Epiphanius on a Certain Joseph and the Patriarch

The fourth-century bishop Epiphanius of Salamis (also known as Constantia) was an early church heresiologist, that is, a student of and writer about religious heresies that ran counter to his vision of normative Christianity. He was also a strong proponent of monasticism. His most notable work, Panarion, catalogs some eighty alleged heresies. Writing in the 370s CE, the author tells a story recounted by Joseph, a chief attendant to the patriarch with the title apostolos (apostle). He reportedly traveled through Asia Minor both collecting taxes (“firstfruits and tithes”) and removing from office any archisynogogos (head of the synagogue) and azanita (deacon-like functionary) he deemed unfit. Joseph’s activities as the patriarch’s emissary point to the patriarch’s authority. Although the account’s historical value is questionable—after all, Joseph was the patriarch’s second-in-command during the time of Constantine (r. 306–337 CE) and reported this to Epiphanius decades later—it does shed some light on the patriarchate and his authority in diaspora communities. Epiphanius also mentions the patriarch Ellel, a reference to Hillel II, who served as patriarch from 320 to 385 CE.