Saint Serapion of Thmuis

Serapion or Sarapion (Greek: Σεραπίων, romanized: Serapíon; Russian: Серапион; fl. early 4th century), known as Serapion of Nitria, Serapion of Thmuis or Serapion the Scholastic, was an early Christian monk and bishop of Thmuis in Lower Egypt. He is notable for fighting alongside Athanasius of Alexandria against Arianism. Serapion is quoted in four sections of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, where he is called Abba Serapion. He was given the title "The Angel of the Church of Thmuis" by Evagrius Ponticus in Gnostikos. Before becoming a monk, Serapion was educated in Alexandria. He then became the abbot of the Monastery of Arsina (Latin: Arseonita), which at one point held as many as eleven-thousand monks. He was given the title "the Great" by the early Christian historians Sozomen and Palladius. As a monk, he was a companion and disciple of Anthony the Great, who at his deathbed bequeathed to him one of his two sheepskin cloaks (the other went to Athanasius). In his later life c. 339, he was made the bishop of Thmuis (near Diospolis) where he served until his death c. 358. Jerome in his work On Illustrous Men noted that Serapion was given the apellation "Scholasticus" (the Scholastic) because of his meticulous scholarship. During his episcopate, he helped Athanasius fight against Arianism in Alexandria, and at his request, Athanasius wrote to him a series of three dogmatic letters on the theology of the Holy Spirit. These letters, which were written c. 339–359, are considered to be among the earliest Christian texts dedicated exclusively to the Holy Spirit. Serapion was one of the most trusted companions of Athanasius and even took care of his episcopal see during one of his exiles. In AD 353, Athanasius placed Serapion at the head of a delegation to Emperor Constantius II to plead guilty against the charges of the Arians. In 343, Serapion attended the Council of Serdica. Serapion was exiled by the Arians in AD 350, and died c. 360.