Diony'sius
39. Bishop of ROME, is called a
λόγιός τε καὶ Δαυμάσιος ἀνήρ by his contemporary, Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria. (
Ap. Euseb. H. E. 7.7.)
He is believed to have been a Greek by birth, and after having been a presbyter, he was made bishop of Rome in A. D. 259, and retained this high dignity for ten years, till A. D. 269. During his administration of the Roman diocese, some bishops brought before him charges against Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, for being guilty of heretical opinions in his controversies with Sabellius.
The bishop of Rome therefore convoked a synod, and with its consent he declared, in a letter to the accused, that he was guilty of heresies, and gave him a gentle reprimand.
A fragment of this letter is preserved in Athanasius (
de Decret. Synod. Nicaen. p. 421), and it was this letter which induced Dionysius of Alexandria to write his work against Sabellius, which was addressed to the bishop of Rome. (Cave,
Hist. Lit. i. p. 97.)
