The Mythical Story of the Phoenix Is Believed by the Church Fathers
The mythical story of the phoenix is believed by the Church Fathers.
Tadros Yacoub Malti says , “Some fathers used this legend in their writings after Clement recorded it, such as Tertullian [73],
Origen [74],
Ambrose [75],
Epiphanius, Rufinus, etc.
Its traces also appeared on coins, medals, rings, and tombs. Some, such as Pliny, Tacitus, and Dio Cassius, claimed that the phoenix actually reappeared in Egypt in 34 AD after an absence of 250 years. Pliny also said that it was brought to Rome in 47 AD.”
https://st-takla.org/books/fr-tadros-malaty/apostolic/clement.html
Origen and the Story of the Phoenix
quotes the instance of the Arabian bird the phœnix, which after many years repairs to Egypt, and bears there its parent, when dead and buried in a ball of myrrh, and deposits its body in the Temple of the Sun. Now this story is indeed recorded, and, if it is true, it is possible that it may occur as a consequence of some provision of nature; divine providence freely displaying to human beings, by the differences which exist among living things
