Biography
Philip of Gortyna
About Philip of Gortyna
Philip was bishop of Gortyna on the island of Crete in the second century. He is remembered as a Christian apologist who wrote against Marcion during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
Dionysius of Corinth praised Philip in a letter addressed to the church at Gortyna and other Christian communities in Crete. Chapman’s account of the correspondence identifies Philip’s opposition to heresy as the subject of that praise.
Jerome later included him in On Illustrious Men, naming his episcopal city and commending his book against Marcion. Krüger points out that Jerome’s notice depends on Eusebius’s earlier history. The later notice therefore preserves the same brief historical record.
Philip’s treatise has not survived. The ancient notices preserve its subject and reputation rather than its detailed argument. Gortyna’s Catholic commemoration of Philip falls on 11 April.
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