The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Crescentianus
fl. AD 320 (death unrecorded) · Subdeacon of Cirta · Cirta (Constantina), Numidia
The Nicene Age
Who Crescentianus was
A subdeacon who had stood shut in the big shed with the rest of the congregation while the quarrymen made Silvanus bishop outside. On Lucilla’s money his evidence is the most quietly damning in the trial: he reasoned that if the four hundred folles had ever been distributed in the normal way, some of it would have reached the clergy — and none had.
Named once, in the Gesta apud Zenophilum — the Cirta records of 19 May 303 and 13 December 320; no other ancient source names him.
Common questions
When was Crescentianus active?
Crescentianus is dated fl. AD 320 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Crescentianus in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Crescentianus?
Crescentianus is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Gesta apud Zenophilum. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Crescentianus from?
The archive associates Crescentianus 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 Crescentianus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Crescentianus to 3 other figures, including Silvanus of Cirta, Lucilla and Mutus. 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 trial before Domitius Zenophilus, 13 December 320
c. AD 320Crescentianus said: ‘None — otherwise surely some small trifle would have come to us.’Gesta apud Zenophilum · Gesta apud Zenophilum, trial of 13 December 320 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Crescentianus in the sources
This figure is placed with Crescentianus by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Crescentianus naming them in return.
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Crescentianus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.