MELEA
60
MELETIUS
says Rupertus, "sit caritas cum prudentia quadam pia et humilitate noii ficta conjuncta." He does not wish all controversies to cease, but to be conducted in a more moderate, charitable spirit. He then compares the act- ual state of religion with its state in the early ages, and concludes bj* saying, " Si nos servareraus in necessa- riis unitatem, in non necessariis libertatem, in utrisque caritatcm, optimo certe loco essent res nostriB." As essentials, Rupertus considers those principles which refer directly to the articles of faith or principal points in the Catechism, or such as can be clearly established from Scripture, such as were held by the early Church, proved such by the acts of synods or symbolic works, and, finally, tliose which all orthodox theologians agree upon .as such. On the otlier hand, he holds as non-es- sential such points as arc not clearly demonstrated by Scripture, do not form an article of the Catechism, were not held by the ancient Church, or considered neces- sary by the greater number of orthodox theologians. Rupertus openly declares that he does not hold the views of those who consider purity of doctrine as essential. The work is published by J. G. Pfeiffer in his Miscella- nea Tlieologica (Leips. 173G) ; also by Liicke, Ueber das Alter, den VerJ'asser, etc., des Kirchlkhen Frieden- spruches: In necessariis unitus, in non necessariis liber- tax, in Htr'uque caritas ((lotting. 1850). — Herzog, Real- Encyklopddie, ix, 304. (.J. N. P.)
Mel'ea (MfXEac, of uncertain signification), a per- son named as the son of Jlenan and father of Elialiim, among the maternal ancestry of Jesus, in the private line of David (Luke iii, 31), but the name itself is of doul)tful authenticity (seeMet/i. Quai: ]iev.lSb2,p. bOT).
Me'lech (Heb. Me'lel; "b-a, kint/; Sept. MiXdx and jM(t\a,Y v. r. MaXwy and MoAwS), the second named of the four sons of Jlicah, the grandson of Saul's son Jonathan (1 Chron. viii, 35; ix, 41). IJ.C. post 1037. See also Ham.melech; Ebf.d-jielecii; Natiian-
MELECir ; RhXili.M-MELECH.
Meletians, Asiatic. The Arians in 331 hart de- posed Eustathius, bishop of Antioch, a learned and zeal- ous Nicene; but a party who adhered to the Nicene symbol, and who callecl themselves Eustathians, con- tinued to exist at Antioch. After appointing several successors to Eustathius. the Arians, in 360, transferred Meletius from the bishopric of Sebaste to that of Anti- och. Although the Arians found they had made a mis- take, and soon deposed him as an enemy of Arianism, yet only a part of the Nicenes at Antioch would ac- knowledge liim as bishop, since the Eustathians regarded an Arian ordination as invalid. In this way two par- ties were formed among the Nicenes at Antioch— a strict party, the Eustathians ; and a moderate party, the Mele- tians. This schism, after Athanasius had tried in vain to remove it, Lucifer made worse by ordaining as bishop over the Eustathians the presbyter Paulinus, in opposi- tion to the wishes of Eusebius of Vercelli, who had been sent with him to Antioch, by the Alexandrian Synoil, as his co-deputy. The entire Nicene portion of Christen- dom now became divided, in reference to tliis matter, into two parties; the Occidentals and i:^'yptians recog- nising Paulinus as the true l)i>liii|i of Aniiocb, and the majority of the Orientals, whose Nicciio pnx'livities had been somewhat weakened by senii-Arian influences, rec- ognising Meletius.— Eadie, Kecks. Did. s. v. See Eus- tathians. See also ISIki.kthis of Antioch.
Meletios, M., an Eastern prelate, was born in the latter i)art til" the IGth century, in Janina, in Epirus, and liiiurislied lirst as metropolitan at Lejianto and Arta, and in the same position, after 1703, at Athens. He died at Constantinople in 1714. He wrote Kirc/wnije- schichte, (Ills dem A Itr/riec/iinc/iPn iii\i Xeiir/riec/iisc/ie iiber- truijen (Wein. 1780, 3 vols., with Notes by J. Vendoti).
Meletius oi- Antiocii, an eminent Greek ecclesi- astic, was born in the beginning of the 4th century at Melitene, in Armenia Miuor. His tirst important" ap- pointment was that of bishop of Sebaste (A.D. 357), to
which office he succeeded Eustathius, who had been de- posed. See EisTATHiAXS. The wilful conduct of the people soon caused Meletius to resign, and he retired to Beroea, in Syria. At this time the Arian controversy caused so much excitement that sectarian zeal was fast displacing true piety. Meletius, however, by confining himself to the essential doctrines of the Gospel and ig- noring polemical subjects, succeeded in wiiniing the es- teem of all except the extremists of both factions, and by universal assent was raised to the bishopric of Anti- och (A.D. 300). His new position gave such imjwr- tance to his opinions that he could no longer remain indifferent to tlie disputes which were marring the concord of the Christian world. At the request of the emperor Constantius he gave an exposition of Prov. viii, 22, in which he expressed himself as being in sympathy with the orthodox party. At this avowal the Arians became greatly excited, and succeeded in influencing the emperor to banish him to his native !Melitene. Euzoius was installed in his place, and the orthodox party separated from the communion of the Arians. Previous to this the most zealous portion of the orthodox had withdrawn on account of the deposi- tion of Eustathius, but the two seceding parties remained separate — the Eustathians adhering at this time to presbyter Paulinus, the intended successor of Eustathius, who had died in the mean while, and the other orthodox gathering around IMeletius. On the accession of Julian as emperor (302), Meletius was recalled, and for two years endeavored to reconcile and miite the two fac- tions of the orthodox party; but the Eustathians re- fused to recognise him, and elected Paulinus as their bishop, who was duly ordained by Lucifer of Cagliari. On the accession of Valens, Meletius was again ban- ished, but by an edict of Gratian (378) was recalled, and shortly after reinstated. The unrelenting prejudice of Paulinus frustrated all attempts at reconciliation, though Meletius proposed to him a just plan of union. ^lelc- tius died at an advanced age while attending the Coun- cil of Constantinople in A.I). 381, His funeral oration, pronounced by (jregorius Nyssenus, is still extant. The schism in the Church lasted until 413 or 415, when bishop Alexander succeeded in reconciling the old or- thodox party with the successor of Meletius. See Schafl; Ch. liist. i, 372 and 394 ; Gieseler, Eccles. Hist, i, 201 sq. ; Smith, Diet, of Gr. and Rom. Biog. vol. ii, s. v. ; Walch, ^etzerhistoHe, vol. iv. See Meletians. (H. W. T.)