ARSENIO, bishop of YPSELÉ. — In the 4th century, he was bishop of this city in Egypt, on the western bank of the Nile, near Lycopolis; he is known only for the role he was forced to play by the leader of the Meletians, John Arcaph (v.), in the campaign against St. Athanasius. A. was hidden away in a monastery in the Thebaid at Plemencvris, and once he had disappeared, the Meletians accused Athanasius of having killed him. The matter was brought before Constantine, who instructed his brother, the Caesar Dalmatius, to conduct an inquiry. St. Athanasius sought to defend himself, and through one of his deacons, sent to search for A., he discovered the plot. The superior of the monastery, Pinces, brought before the judge, was forced to confess that A. was alive. The following year, the rumor of A.’s murder resurfaced; but he, who in the meantime had fled from Plemencvris toward Lower Egypt, unaware of what had happened, appeared at Tyre during the synod. Discovered, he asked Athanasius for forgiveness, promising obedience to the Church over which he presided; a promise which he kept.
ARSENIO VESCOVO DI YPSELÉ
BIBL.: S. Athanasius, Apologia, ch. 65–72; PG 25, 366–77; Socrates, Hist. eccl., I, 27–29; Tillemont, VIII, Venice 1732, pp. 24–29, 657–63; Hefele-Leclercq, I, pp. 653, 660.