The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Acesius the Novatianist
fl. AD 325 (death unrecorded) · Novatianist bishop at Nicaea · Constantinople
The Nicene Age
Who Acesius the Novatianist was
The Novatianist bishop whom Constantine, curious, summoned to Nicaea though his sect was not on trial — and who told the emperor he agreed with the creed entirely; only, those who sinned after baptism must never receive the mysteries again. Socrates preserves the emperor's answer, the best one-liner of the council: 'Place a ladder, Acesius, and climb alone into heaven.'
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees and heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When was Acesius active?
Acesius the Novatianist is dated fl. AD 325 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Acesius in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Acesius?
Acesius the Novatianist is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomen. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Acesius from?
The archive associates Acesius the Novatianist with Constantinople.
Who were Acesius’ contemporaries?
The archive links Acesius the Novatianist to 2 other figures, including Constantine the Great and Novatian of Rome. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Socrates, Ecclesiastical History I.10
c. AD 439Whereupon the emperor said to him, 'Place a ladder, Acesius, and climb alone into heaven.'Socrates Scholasticus · source text
Church History I.22 ('set up a ladder, Acesius' — the emperor's jest retold)
c. AD 445O Acesius, take a ladder, and ascend alone to heaven.Sozomen · Church History I.22 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Acesius.