The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Bos
fl. 19 May 303 (death unrecorded) · Servus publicus of the colony of Cirta · Cirta (Constantina), Numidia
External witness
Who Bos was
A public slave of the town, sent into Coddeo’s house to search it after the wife said there were no more books. He found nothing and said so, and his answer was entered in the acts like anyone else’s. He is the lowest-ranking named participant in the whole document, and the reason the archive keeps him is that the record kept him.
Named once, in the Gesta apud Zenophilum — the Cirta records of 19 May 303 and 13 December 320; no other ancient source names him.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Bos active?
Bos is dated fl. 19 May 303 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Bos in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Bos?
Bos is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Municipal acts of Cirta. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Bos from?
The archive associates Bos with Cirta (Constantina), Numidia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Bos’ contemporaries?
The archive links Bos to 2 other figures, including Coddeo and Munatius Felix. 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.
The Acts of Munatius Felix, 19 May 303 — read into evidence before Zenophilus
c. AD 303Felix… said to Bos the public official: ‘Go in and search whether she has not any more.’ The public official said: ‘I have searched and have not found anything else.’Municipal acts of Cirta · Gesta apud Zenophilum, Acts of 19 May 303 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- 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
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Bos, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.