Isidore of Pelusium

c.360-c.440. Ascetic and theologian. Born probably at Alexandria where he received a systematic theological education, he was for forty years abbot of a monastery near Pelusium on the eastern estuary of the Nile. He took part in fifth-century controversies, supporting the memory of Chrysostom, whose exegesis he followed, and warning Cyril of Alexandria to be moderate in his dealings with Nestorius. He also seems to have opposed Eutyches.* Isidore left some 2,000 letters which contain much of doctrinal, exegetical, and moral interest. He followed Athanasius in Christology and appears to have anticipated the terminology of the Council of Chalcedon. He held that the Holy Spirit was consubstantial with the Father and the Son. He defined the church as “the assembly of saints knit together by correct faith and excellent manner of life,” adding that it should abound in spiritual gifts.