St., an ancient father of the church, born at Besanudcan, a village in Palestine, about the year 332. He founded a monastery near the place of his birth, and presided over it. He was afterwards elected bishop of Salamis; when he sided with Paulinus against Meletius, and ordained in Palestine Paulinius the brother of St Jerome; on which a contest arose between him and John bishop of Jerusalem. He afterwards called a council in the island of Cyprus, in which he procured a prohibition of the reading of Origen's writings; and made use of all his endeavours to prevail on Theophilus bishop of Alexandria to engage St Chrysostom to declare in favour of that decree; but not meeting with success, he went himself to Constantinople, where he would not have any conversation with St Chrysostom; and formed the design of entering the church of the apostles to publish his condemnation of Origen; but being informed of the danger to which he would be exposed, he resolved to return to Cyprus; but died at sea in the year 403.
His works were printed in Greek, at Basil, 1544, in folio; and were afterwards translated into Latin, in which language they have been often reprinted. Petavius revised and corrected the Greek text by two manuscripts, and published it together with a new translation at Paris in 1622. This edition was reprinted at Cologne in 1682.
EPHANY, a Christian festival, otherwise called the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, observed on the sixth of January, in honour of the appearance of our Saviour to the three magi or wise men, who came to adore him and bring him presents. The feast of epiphany was not originally a distinct festival; but made a part of that of the nativity of Christ, which being celebrated 12 days, the first and last of which were high or chief days of solemnity, either of these might properly be called epiphany, as that word signifies the appearance of Christ in the world.
The word in the original Greek, ἐπίφανες, signifies appearance or apparition; and was applied, as some critics will have it, to this feast, on account of the star which appeared to the magi.—St Jerome and St Chrysostom take the epiphany for the day of our Saviour's baptism, when he was declared to men by the voice, Hic est filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi complacui: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And accordingly it is still observed by the Coptic and Ethiopians in that view. Others contend, that the feast of Christmas, or the nativity of our Saviour, was held in divers churches on this day; which had the denomination epiphany or appearance, by reason of our Saviour's first appearance on earth at that time. And it must be allowed, that the word is used among the ancient Greek fathers, not for the appearance of the star to the magi, but for that of our Saviour to the world: In which sense St Paul uses the word epiphanias in his second epistle to Timothy, i. 10.
EPHONEMA. See ORATORY, No. 96.
EPHORA, in Medicine, a preternatural fluxion of the eyes, when they continually discharge a sharp serous humour, which excoriates the cheeks. See MEDICINE Index.
EPHYYSIS, in Anatomy. See ANATOMY Index.