The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Asclepiades of Antioch
d. c. 220 · Bishop of Antioch · Confessor · Antioch
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Asclepiades of Antioch was
Bishop of Antioch in the reign of Caracalla, a confessor who had suffered in persecution before his elevation — Alexander of Jerusalem wrote to congratulate the Antiochenes on choosing “a man distinguished by the glory of confession.” Ninth in the Antiochene succession after the apostles, he governed the great Syrian see in the years of Origen’s early fame. Little survives beyond the honour of his confessorship.
Also listed in the bishops of Antioch.
Common questions
When did Asclepiades die?
Asclepiades of Antioch is dated d. c. 220 in the archive, which places Asclepiades 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 Asclepiades?
Asclepiades of Antioch is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Alexander of Jerusalem, via Eusebius and Jerome of Stridon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Asclepiades from?
The archive associates Asclepiades of Antioch with Antioch.
Who were Asclepiades’ contemporaries?
The archive links Asclepiades of Antioch to 4 other figures, including Serapion of Antioch, Alexander of Jerusalem, Babylas of Antioch and Zebinnus of Antioch. 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.
Ecclesiastical History VI.11
c. AD 325Alexander wrote to the Antiochenes: ‘The Lord has made my bonds light and easy during the days of my imprisonment, since I learned that, by the divine providence, Asclepiades… has been entrusted with the bishopric of your holy church of Antioch.’Alexander of Jerusalem, via Eusebius · VI.11 · source text
Chronicle of Jerome (the Antiochene succession)
c. AD 380Connected 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 one place the sources put Asclepiades.