breski1 Feb 28, 2008 Saint Porphyry (or Saint Porphyrius) (Greek: Πορφύριος, Porphyrios; Latin: Porphyrius; Slavonic: Порфирий, Porfiriy) (ca. 347–420), Bishop of Gaza 395–420, known from the account in his Life for Christianizing the recalcitrant pa … [More]

breski1 Feb 28, 2008 Saint Porphyry (or Saint Porphyrius) (Greek: Πορφύριος, Porphyrios; Latin: Porphyrius; Slavonic: Порфирий, Porfiriy) (ca. 347–420), Bishop of Gaza 395–420, known from the account in his Life for Christianizing the recalcitrant pagan city of Gaza, and demolishing its temples. Porphyry of Gaza is known to us only from the vivid biography by Mark the Deacon. The Vita Porphyrii appears to be a contemporary account of Porphyry that chronicles in some detail the end of paganism in Gaza in the early fifth century. However the text has been identified in the 20th century as hagiography rather than history and some elements of it are certainly examples of the stereotyped events characteristic of this form of fiction [1] . On the other hand the author was certainly intimately familiar with Gaza in late Antiquity [2], and his statements are of interest at least as reflecting attitudes in the 5th century. A street in the village of Zejtun, Malta bears his name.