POLICRONIO. - Bishop of Apamea in Syria, d. c. 430. He was the brother of Teodoro di Mopsuestia and is praised by Teodoreto, who concludes his Storia ecclesiastica with the recollection of P. (PG 82, 1277 B), as “an excellent pastor, distinguished by the grace of his speech and the exemplary character of his life.”
No other information about him survives apart from that contained in his own writings, which have come down to us in fragments in exegetical catenae, excerpts from commentaries on Giobbe and the prophets Geremia, Ezechiele, and Daniele. In these P. rivals the other interpreters of the Antiochene school in adherence to the literal sense and historical reason, but surpasses them all in his knowledge of the Hebrew language and antiquities. Of a calmer temperament and more measured judgment, he avoided the excesses of his elder brother. Even in dogma, the remains of his writings that have reached us, not all of which have yet been published, afford no ground for any censure.