The life of St Firmilian of Caesarea
He took part in the Church's response to the Montanist and Novatianist controversies of his day, and later presided over councils at Antioch that examined and ultimately deposed Paul of Samosata, bishop of that city, for teaching that denied the full and abiding divinity of the Son.
Firmilian is best remembered for his support of Cyprian of Carthage in the dispute over whether baptism performed by heretics should be recognized as valid; his one surviving letter, written to Cyprian, argues forcefully against Pope Stephen of Rome's more lenient position, for which stance Firmilian himself was for a time cut off from communion with Rome. He died at Tarsus around the year 268 or 269, on his way to a further council concerning Paul of Samosata, and is remembered in the Greek calendar though not in the West.
