The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Alcibiades of Apamea
fl. c. AD 220 (death unrecorded) · Elchasaite missionary to Rome · Apamea, Syria → Rome
External witness
Who Alcibiades of Apamea was
The Syrian who arrived in Rome under Callistus carrying the Book of Elchasai and preaching its novelty: a second baptism for the remission of sins, even the gravest, sworn under seven witnesses — water, heaven, spirit, oil, salt, earth, and the angels of prayer. Hippolytus, already at war with Callistus over penance, treated the newcomer as the laxity's reductio ad absurdum. Distinct from Alcibiades the confessor of Lyon.
Hippolytus only (Refutation IX.13).
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Alcibiades active?
Alcibiades of Apamea is dated fl. c. AD 220 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Alcibiades 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.
Which early sources mention Alcibiades?
Alcibiades of Apamea is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Hippolytus of Rome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Alcibiades from?
The archive associates Alcibiades of Apamea with Apamea, Syria, Rome. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Alcibiades’ contemporaries?
The archive links Alcibiades of Apamea to 3 other figures, including Elchasai (Elxai), Hippolytus of Rome and Callistus I of Rome. 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.
Refutation of All Heresies IX.13
c. AD 225A certain cunning man, full of desperation, one called Alcibiades, dwelling in Apamea of Syria, came to Rome bearing the book, announcing that a new remission of sins had been preached unto men.Hippolytus of Rome · IX.13 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Alcibiades, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.