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A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century

The standard one-volume reference: an article on every Father, bishop, heretic and writing of the first six centuries, with their sects and doctrines.

Edition: Internet Archive · archive.org

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From the opening: Dictionary of Christian Biography

etc. ; Lat. Avircius, or Avercius; on the form and origin, see Ramsay, Expositor, ix. (3rd ser.), pp. 268, 394, and Zahn, art. " Avercius," Realencyclopddie jiir protest. Theol. und Kirche, Hauck). The Life of the saint, described as bp. of Hierapolis in Phrygia in the time of M. Aurelius and L. Verus, as given by Symeon Metaphrastes and in the Boliandist Acta Sanctorum, Oct. 22, is full of worthless and fantastic tales. But the epitaph which the Acts incorporate, placed, according to the story, on the altar brought from Rome by the demon whom the saiut had driven out of the emperor's daughter, is of great value, and the discovery of some of the actual fragments of the inscription may well be called " a romance of archaeology." For this rediscovery our thanks are due to the rich labours of Prof. Ramsay. The fact that Abercius was described as bp. of Hierapolis at the time mentioned above had contributed to hesitation as to the genuineness of the epitaph. But Ramsay {Bulletin de correspondance hellenique, Juillet 1882) pointed out that Hierapolis had been frequently confounded with Hieropolis; and he also published in the same journal a metrical and early Christian epitaph of a certain Alexander (a.d. 216), discovered at Hieropolis, and evidently copied from the epitaph of Abercius, as given in his Life. As to the copying, there can be no doubt, for the third line of the epitaph of Alexander, son of Antonius, will not scan, owing to the substitution of his name for that of Abercius (Lightfoot, Apost. Fathersi, i. p. 479; Headlam in Authority and Archaeology, pp. 307 ff., 1899). Ramsay's attention being drawn to the earlier epitaph, he collected various topographical notices in the Life of the saint, which pointed to Hieropolis, near Synnada (not HierapoUs on the Maeander), and he further established the case for the former by finding, in 1883, in the bath-room at some hot springs near Hieropolis, a small portion of the epitaph of Abercius himself on the fragment of an altarshaped tomb; the hot springs in their position near the city exactly correspond with the position of the hot springs described in the Life. We have thus fortunately a threefold help in reconstructing the text of the whole epitaph — (i) the text in the Life; (2) the rediscovered fragments in the stone; (3) the epitaph on the tomb of Alexander.

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Contents (212 sections)

  1. Opening
  2. Title page
  3. Preface
  4. Preface (continued)
  5. Preface (continued)
  6. Dictionary of Christian Biography
  7. Dictionary of Christian Biography (continued)
  8. Dictionary of Christian Biography (continued)
  9. Dictionary of Christian Biography (continued)
  10. Dictionary of Christian Biography (continued)
  11. Dictionary of Christian Biography (continued)
  12. Apollinaris the Elder
  13. Apollinaris the Younger
  14. Apollinaris the Younger (continued)
  15. Apollinaris the Younger (continued)
  16. Arius, Followers of
  17. Arius, Followers of (continued)
  18. Arius, Followers of (continued)
  19. Arius, Followers of (continued)
  20. Arius, Followers of (continued)
  21. 'I (continued)
  22. 'I (continued)
  23. 'I (continued)
  24. Ausonius, Decimus Magnus
  25. Ausonius, Decimus Magnus (continued)
  26. Avitus, Alcimus Ecdicius
  27. Avitus, Alcimus Ecdicius (continued)
  28. Barnabas, Epistle of
  29. Barnabas, Epistle of (continued)
  30. Barnabas, Epistle of (continued)
  31. Barnabas, Epistle of (continued)
  32. Barnabas, Epistle of (continued)
  33. Barnabas, Epistle of (continued)
  34. Barnabas, Epistle of (continued)
  35. Barnabas, Epistle of (continued)
  36. Basilius of Ancyra
  37. Basilius of Ancyra (continued)
  38. Basilius of Ancyra (continued)
  39. Benedictus of Nursia
  40. Benedictus of Nursia (continued)
  41. Benedictus of Nursia (continued)
  42. Benedictus of Nursia (continued)
  43. Benedictus of Nursia (continued)
  44. Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius
  45. Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius (continued)
  46. Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius (continued)
  47. Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius (continued)
  48. Clement of Alexandria
  49. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  50. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  51. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  52. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  53. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  54. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  55. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  56. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  57. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  58. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  59. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  60. Clement of Alexandria (continued)
  61. Diognetus, Epistle to
  62. Diognetus, Epistle to (continued)
  63. Diognetus, Epistle to (continued)
  64. Diognetus, Epistle to (continued)
  65. Dionysius of Alexandria
  66. Dionysius of Alexandria (continued)
  67. Dionysius of Alexandria (continued)
  68. Dionysius of Alexandria (continued)
  69. Dionysius of Alexandria (continued)
  70. Dionysius of Alexandria (continued)
  71. Ephraim the Syrian
  72. Ephraim the Syrian (continued)
  73. Ephraim the Syrian (continued)
  74. Ephraim the Syrian (continued)
  75. Eusebius of Caesarea
  76. Eusebius of Caesarea (continued)
  77. Eusebius of Caesarea (continued)
  78. Eusebius of Caesarea (continued)
  79. Eusebius of Caesarea (continued)
  80. Eusebius of Caesarea (continued)
  81. Eusebius of Caesarea (continued)
  82. Eusebius of Caesarea (continued)
  83. Eusebius of Caesarea (continued)
  84. Forty Martyrs, the
  85. Forty Martyrs, the (continued)
  86. Forty Martyrs, the (continued)
  87. Forty Martyrs, the (continued)
  88. Forty Martyrs, the (continued)
  89. Forty Martyrs, the (continued)
  90. Forty Martyrs, the (continued)
  91. Forty Martyrs, the (continued)
  92. Nyssenus 41 D
  93. Nyssenus
  94. Nyssenus (continued)
  95. Nyssenus (continued)
  96. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius
  97. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  98. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  99. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  100. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  101. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  102. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  103. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  104. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  105. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  106. Hadrianus, Publius Aelius (continued)
  107. Honorius, Flavius Augustus
  108. Honorius, Flavius Augustus Honorius, Flavius Augustus
  109. Honorius, Flavius Augustus
  110. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  111. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  112. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  113. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  114. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  115. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  116. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  117. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  118. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  119. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  120. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  121. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  122. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  123. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  124. Honorius, Flavius Augustus (continued)
  125. Julianus, Flavius Claudius
  126. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  127. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  128. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  129. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  130. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  131. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  132. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  133. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  134. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  135. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  136. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  137. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  138. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  139. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  140. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  141. Julianus, Flavius Claudius (continued)
  142. Magnentius, Flavius Popilius
  143. Magnentius, Flavius Popilius (continued)
  144. Magnentius, Flavius Popilius (continued)
  145. Magnentius, Flavius Popilius (continued)
  146. Magnentius, Flavius Popilius (continued)
  147. Maternus, Julius Firmicus
  148. Maternus, Julius Firmicus (continued)
  149. Maximus of Ephesus
  150. Maximus of Ephesus (continued)
  151. Maximus of Ephesus (continued)
  152. Minucius Felix, Marcus
  153. Minucius Felix, Marcus (continued)
  154. Minucius Felix, Marcus (continued)
  155. Minucius Felix, Marcus (continued)
  156. Nero, Claudius Caesar
  157. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  158. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  159. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  160. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  161. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  162. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  163. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  164. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  165. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  166. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  167. Nero, Claudius Caesar (continued)
  168. Paulus of Samosata
  169. Paulus of Samosata (continued)
  170. Paulus of Samosata (continued)
  171. Paulus of Samosata (continued)
  172. Paulus of Samosata (continued)
  173. Paulus of Samosata (continued)
  174. Paulus of Samosata (continued)
  175. Paulus of Samosata (continued)
  176. Priscillianus, Priscillianism
  177. Priscillianus, Priscillianism Priscillianus, Priscillianism
  178. Procopius of Caesarea
  179. Procopius of Caesarea (continued)
  180. Procopius of Caesarea (continued)
  181. Procopius of Caesarea (continued)
  182. Procopius of Caesarea (continued)
  183. Procopius of Caesarea (continued)
  184. Severus, L. Septimius
  185. Severus, L. Septimius (continued)
  186. Severus, Aurelius Alexander Severus, Aurelius Alexander
  187. Severus, Aurelius Alexander Severus, Aurelius Alexander (continued)
  188. Severus, Aurelius Alexander Severus, Aurelius Alexander (continued)
  189. Sirmium, Stonemasons of
  190. The first council of Carthage on the subject, held in 255, issued a synodal letter…
  191. Symmachus Q. Aurelius
  192. Symmachus Q. Aurelius (continued)
  193. Symmachus Q. Aurelius (continued)
  194. Symmachus Q. Aurelius (continued)
  195. Teaching of the Twelve Apostles
  196. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve
  197. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve (continued)
  198. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve (continued)
  199. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve (continued)
  200. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve (continued)
  201. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve (continued)
  202. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve (continued)
  203. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve (continued)
  204. 'Teaching of the Twelve" "Teaching of the Twelve (continued)
  205. Trajanus, M. Ulpius
  206. Trajanus, M. Ulpius (continued)
  207. Trajanus, M. Ulpius (continued)
  208. Victor, Claudius Marius
  209. Victor, Claudius Marius (continued)
  210. Appendix; and in Maittaires' Corpus Poetarttm Lat. ii. 1567. h.a.w (continued)
  211. Vigilius Thapsensis
  212. Vigilius Thapsensis (continued)

How to cite it

Chicago
Henry Wace and William C. Piercy (editors). A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century. Internet Archive, 1911. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofchri00waceuoft
MLA
Henry Wace and William C. Piercy (editors). A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century. Internet Archive, 1911. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofchri00waceuoft
APA
Henry Wace and William C. Piercy (editors) (1911). A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century. Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofchri00waceuoft

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