Biography
Severian of Scythopolis
About Severian of Scythopolis
Severian was bishop of Scythopolis in Palestine, the city now known as Bet Shean. He is remembered as a supporter of the Council of Chalcedon and as a martyr killed during the conflicts that followed it.
The council of 451 had defined Christ’s divinity and humanity as distinct natures united in one person. Opposition in Palestine led to a struggle over the leadership of Jerusalem, where Theodosius displaced Bishop Juvenal. The received account places Severian among those who resisted Theodosius.
An imperial letter preserved in the historical commentary of Jean Bolland gives a direct witness to the violence. Emperor Marcian says that a man sent to kill Juvenal instead struck down Bishop Severian and did not spare his companions. The letter places the death within a wider account of unrest and attacks on clergy.
Katharina Heyden’s study likewise connects his killing with his support for the Chalcedonian faith. It notes that literary evidence for fifth-century Scythopolis is scarce, even though archaeological remains show a prosperous provincial capital.
The date is less certain than his later commemoration might suggest. Bolland explicitly says that the month and day of his death are unknown. The Catholic Church in Norway gives 452 or 453 and commemorates him on 21 February.
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