St. Meletius of Antioch

St. Meletius of Antioch was a bishop of the fourth century, esteemed for his gentleness and holiness, who was chosen Bishop of Antioch about 360, in the height of the Arian controversy that convulsed the Church over the true divinity of Christ. Though at first accepted by some of the Arian party, he soon showed himself a firm defender of the Nicene faith, and was three times driven from his see into exile by Arian emperors, bearing these hardships with patience.

His episcopate was further troubled by a schism among the orthodox at Antioch itself, where a rival bishop divided the faithful who agreed in doctrine, a painful division that outlasted him. Yet Meletius was widely revered; he ordained and encouraged St. John Chrysostom, and in 381 he presided at the opening of the First Council of Constantinople, the second ecumenical council, which reaffirmed and completed the creed of Nicaea. He died in the very course of that council, mourned by the assembled bishops, and is venerated as a saint, his memory kept on 12 February.