The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Abdas of Susa
bishop before AD 400; d. AD 420 (held at the timeline’s ceiling) · Bishop of Susa · Susa (Beth Huzaye), Sasanian Persia
The Nicene Age
Who Abdas of Susa was
Bishop of Susa through the years of peace that followed Marutha’s embassies — and the man who ended them. He burned down a Zoroastrian fire-temple and then refused the king’s order to rebuild it; the persecution that broke out under Yazdgard I and ran on under Bahram V is dated from that refusal. Theodoret, who tells the story, thinks the burning was wrong and the refusal right. Distinct from the martyr-bishop Abdas in Sozomen’s Shapur roll, eighty years earlier.
Named once, in the roll of martyred Persian bishops at Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History II.14; no see, no date, and no other ancient source names him.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Abdas live?
Abdas of Susa is dated bishop before AD 400; d. AD 420 (held at the timeline’s ceiling) in the archive, which places Abdas in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Abdas?
Abdas of Susa is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Abdas from?
The archive associates Abdas of Susa with Susa (Beth Huzaye), Sasanian Persia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Abdas’ contemporaries?
The archive links Abdas of Susa to 2 other figures, including Marutha of Maypherqat and Isaac of Seleucia. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Ecclesiastical History V.39 (the burning of the fire-temple and the persecution it began)
c. AD 449[Abdas, bishop of Susa, destroyed a fire-temple; ordered by the king to rebuild it, he refused, and the churches of Persia were thrown down in consequence.]Theodoret of Cyrrhus · Ecclesiastical History V.39 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
- AD 397 · Carthage confirms the canon, AD 397
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Abdas, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Susa
- 2Sasanian Persiaprovince only