The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Alce of Smyrna
fl. c. 108 – 155 (death unrecorded) · Believer of the Smyrnaean church · Smyrna
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Alce of Smyrna was
“A name very dear to me,” Ignatius writes, greeting Alce among the Smyrnaeans around 108 — and half a century later the same rare name reappears in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, greeted again as sister of the police official Nicetes. If it is one woman, Alce spans the whole documented life of the Smyrnaean church from Ignatius to Polycarp’s pyre: a single lay believer glimpsed twice across fifty years.
Common questions
When was Alce active?
Alce of Smyrna is dated fl. c. 108 – 155 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Alce in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Alce?
Alce of Smyrna is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Ignatius of Antioch and The church of Smyrna. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Alce from?
The archive associates Alce of Smyrna with Smyrna.
Who were Alce’s contemporaries?
The archive links Alce of Smyrna to 5 other figures, including Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, Nicetes of Smyrna and Tavia of Smyrna. 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.
To the Smyrnaeans 13
c. AD 108I salute Tavia, and her whole household… I salute Alce, a name very dear to me.Ignatius of Antioch · 13 · source text
Martyrdom of Polycarp 17
c. AD 156Nicetes, the father of Herod and brother of Alce, importuned the governor not to give up the body of Polycarp.The church of Smyrna · 17 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Alce.