Paphnutius the Great
A confessor during the persecutions under Maximin Daja, St. Paphnutius (d. c. 350/56) is thought to have been a disciple of Anthony of Egypt before becoming bishop in the upper Thebiad. A native of Egypt, he was also a friend of Athanasius and an opponent of Arianism. At the Council of Tyre (335), he defended Athanasius and is said to have rebuked the Arian Maximus, bishop of Jerusalem, who returned to orthodoxy. Constantine is said to have respected Paphnutius greatly and to have kissed his blind eye at the Council of Nicæa (325). Paphnutius argued at the council, say Socrates and Sozomen, that married men may be ordained to the priesthood but ordained clergy are not to marry.
Karen Rae Keck
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