The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Celerinus of Carthage
confessor AD 250; lector under Cyprian · Confessor of Rome · Lector of Carthage · Rome → Carthage
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Celerinus of Carthage was
Grandson of the martyr Celerina, who endured nineteen days of chains and irons at Rome in the first days of the Decian storm — 'the trumpeter of the battle,' Cyprian called him, ordaining the young hero a reader and marking him for the presbyterate.
Common questions
When did Celerinus live?
Celerinus of Carthage is dated confessor AD 250; lector under Cyprian in the archive, which places Celerinus in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Celerinus?
Celerinus of Carthage is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Celerinus, in his own hand and Cyprian of Carthage. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Celerinus from?
The archive associates Celerinus of Carthage with Rome, Carthage. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Celerinus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Celerinus of Carthage to 2 other figures, including Cyprian of Carthage and Aurelius the Lector. 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.
Epistle 21 (his own letter to Lucian, preserved in the corpus)
c. AD 250Epistle 33 (Oxford 39), to the clergy and people
c. AD 253Celerinus, renowned alike for his courage and his character, has been joined to our clergy not by human suffrage but by divine favour… nineteen days shut up in prison, in chains and irons; but his spirit stood free.Cyprian of Carthage · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
- 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
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Celerinus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.