FLAVIAN I., patriarch of Antioch, was born about 320, most probably in Antioch. He lost his parents in early youth, and, although inheriting great wealth, he renounced a life of worldly ease, and resolved to devote his riches and his talents to the service of the church. In association with Diodorus, afterwards bishop of Tarsus, he supported the catholic faith against the Arian Leontius, who had succeeded Eustathius as patriarch of Antioch. The two friends assembled their adherents outside the city walls for the observance of the exercises of religion; and, according to Theodoret, it was in these meetings that the practice of antiphonal singing was first introduced in the services of the church. When Meletius was appointed patriarch of Antioch in 361, he raised Flavian to the priesthood, and on the death of Meletius in 381, Flavian was chosen, by a majority of the bishops, to succeed him. The schism between the two parties was, however, far from being healed, and Paulinus, who by the extreme Eustathians had been elected patriarch in opposition to Meletius, still exercised authority over a portion of the church. On the death of Paulinus in 383, Evagrius was chosen as his successor, and after the death of Evagrius in 395 the Eustathians still continued to hold separate meetings; but through the intervention of Chrysostom of Constantinople, they agreed, about the year 399, to acknowledge Flavian as their bishop. During the patriarchate of Flavian a serious sedition occurred in the streets of Antioch (387), and the statues of Theodosius and the empress were overturned; but Flavian went to Constantinople, and by an eloquent discourse, prepared for him, it is said, by his pupil St John Chrysostom, succeeded in averting the emperor’s vengeance from the city. Flavian died in ...

FLAVIAN IL, patriarch of Antioch, was chosen by the emperor Anastasius I. to succeed Palladius, most probably in 498. He endeavoured toplease both parties by steering a middle course in reference to the Chalcedon decrees, but was induced after great hesitation to agree to the request of Anastasius that he should accept the Henoticon. His doing so, while it brought upon him the anathema of the patriarch of Constantinople, failed to secure a return of the favour of Anastasius, who in 511 found in the riots which were occurring between the rival parties in the streets of Antioch a pretext for deposing Flavian, and banishing him to Petra, where he died in 518. Flavian was soon after his death enrolled among the saints of the Greek Church, and after some opposition he was also canonized by the Latin Church.