Bishop of Antioch, a famous ecclesiastic, was born about the beginning of the fourth century at Melitene (Malatia) in Armenia Minor. His first important pastorate, the bishopric of Sebaste, was rendered so intolerable, through the stubborn conduct of the people, that he resigned it shortly after his appointment, and retired to Berea (Aleppo) in Syria. At this time the Arian controversy was engrossing the minds of the Christians of the East, and was fast extinguishing all deep and true piety. The pastors fed their flocks with nothing but the dry formulæ of doctrine and the vehement ebullitions of sectarian zeal. But Meletius, keeping ever in view the design of the priesthood, endeavoured, both by his ministrations in the pulpit and by his walk in private life, to recommend to his people the essential doctrines of the gospel. He thus undesignedly secured the respect of both the factions in the church, and was elevated by universal consent to the Meletius, see of Antioch in 360. The public conduct of Meletius now became more decided. He saw that in his influential position he was bound to act a part in a dispute that was interrupting the concord of the Christian world. Accordingly, in his inaugural discourse in 361, he expressed, in subdued yet unmistakable terms, his sympathy with the orthodox party. This confession awakened the slumbering spirit of controversy in the church of Antioch. The Arians forthwith charged Meletius with Sabellianism and other crimes, and in the course of a month he was banished to his native Melitene by command of the Emperor Constantius. At the same time the orthodox party in the church of Antioch seceded from the communion of the Arians. On the accession of the Emperor Julian in 362 Meletius was recalled from exile. He now bent all his energies to effect a union between the Eustathians and the orthodox section that had separated from the Arians at his own deposition; but the former party, although they had seceded from the church of Antioch on the same grounds as the latter, could not sympathize with the liberal-minded Meletius, and declared that they would recognize no bishop who had been consecrated by Arians. The Council of Alexandria interfered to settle this dissension, and sent Lucifer of Cagliari to Antioch. But that hot-headed bishop was the worst mediator that could have been found; and he immediately destroyed all hope of a reconciliation, by ordaining Paulinus bishop of the Eustathians. Soon after the accession of Valens in 364 Meletius was again banished. He was recalled, along with other exiles, by an edict of Gratian in 378; and not long afterwards he was reinstated in his bishopric. His exertions were again turned towards a union with the Eustathians, but were frustrated by the unrelenting prejudice of their bishop, Paulinus. Meletius died at an advanced age while attending the Council of Constantinople in 381. His body was conveyed to Antioch, and buried with great honour beside the tomb of the martyr Babylas. Gregory of Nyssa pronounced his funeral oration.

A part of the inaugural sermon of Meletius at Antioch is printed in the 6th vol. of Galland's Bibliotheca Patrum.

founder of the sect of the Meletians, was Bishop of Lycopolis in Thebais in the beginning of the fourth century. During the bitter persecutions that assailed the Christians in the reigns of Diocletian and Maximian, he and his superior, Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria, were fellow-prisoners for the faith. Torture and hardship meanwhile were wringing from many an abjuration of their religion. Some of these backsliders, however, could not enjoy in peace the freedom they had so ignominiously bought, and, repaireing to the two imprisoned bishops, they desired to be reconciled to the church. Peter at once declared that their request ought to be granted after they had undergone a suitable penance; but Meletius, occupying as a metropolitan a rank second only to the archbishop, ventured to oppose this decision, and refused to have any intercourse with traitors to the faith until the close of the persecution. The question was then submitted to the vote of the imprisoned Christians, and was settled by a majority agreeing with the opinion of Meletius. The schism, thus begun in a dungeon, was carried by the prisoners to the mines of Phonon in Arabia Petraea, and rose into prominence when Meletius was finally liberated. The headstrong bishop then set himself to overturn the authority of Peter in his archbishopric of Alexandria. He travelled through the patriarchate, ordaining and excommunicating in the most arbitrary manner, attracting to himself many followers, and utterly disregarding all the protestations of the Egyptian bishops, and the sentence of deposition that Peter launched against him. This proselytizing tour was afterwards extended into Palestine. At length, in 325, the Council of Nice arrested Meletius in his reckless career, and fixed him down at Lycopolis as a mere titular bishop, without any active jurisdiction. He did not long survive this sentence.

The Meletians, or, as they called themselves, "The Church of the Martyrs," were chiefly characterized by opposition to the Patriarch of Alexandria. So prominent was this feature that they afterwards sacrificed their orthodoxy, and entered into alliance with the Arians against Athanasius. They continued a distinct sect, however, till the fifth century.