The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Abercius of Hierapolis
fl. c. 170 – 190 · Bishop of Hierapolis (Phrygia) · Author of a famous epitaph · Hierapolis, Phrygia
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Abercius of Hierapolis was
Bishop of the Phrygian Hierapolis, remembered for the verse epitaph he composed for his own tomb — the “queen of Christian inscriptions,” fragments of which were recovered in 1883 and are now in the Vatican. In veiled, sacramental language it describes his travels to Rome and the East and the “fish from the fountain, mighty and pure,” which the faith set before him everywhere — an early cryptic witness to the eucharist and to the Ichthys symbol. It is the oldest securely dated Christian inscription, a bishop preaching from his gravestone.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When was Abercius active?
Abercius of Hierapolis is dated fl. c. 170 – 190 in the archive, which places Abercius in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did Abercius write?
Abercius of Hierapolis has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: The Epitaph of Abercius.
Which early sources mention Abercius?
Abercius of Hierapolis is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Abercius, in his own words and Ecclesiastical tradition. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Abercius from?
The archive associates Abercius of Hierapolis with Hierapolis, Phrygia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
The Epitaph of Abercius
c. 190Faith everywhere led me forward, and everywhere provided as my food a fish of exceeding great size, and perfect, which a holy virgin drew with her hands from a fountain.Read the interlinear source text →
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Abercius stone (the epitaph itself, recovered at Hierapolis, 1883)
c. AD 190Vita Abercii & the recovered inscription
c. AD 400The citizen of a notable city, I made this tomb in my lifetime, that I might have here a resting-place for my body. Abercius by name, I am a disciple of the pure shepherd.Ecclesiastical tradition · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Abercius, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Hierapolis
- 2Phrygiaprovince only