The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Dioscorus the Presbyter
fl. AD 257 (death unrecorded) · Presbyter of Alexandria · Alexandria
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Dioscorus the Presbyter was
One of three presbyters who stayed hidden in Alexandria through the Valerianic persecution and went round the brethren in secret. Distinct from Dioscorus the fifteen-year-old confessor of 250, though the NPNF editors record Birks’ suggestion that they may be the same man grown up — a proposal the archive notes and does not adopt.
Named once in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; no other ancient source names him.
Common questions
When was Dioscorus active?
Dioscorus the Presbyter is dated fl. AD 257 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Dioscorus in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Dioscorus?
Dioscorus the Presbyter is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Dionysius of Alexandria. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Dioscorus from?
The archive associates Dioscorus the Presbyter with Alexandria.
Who were Dioscorus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Dioscorus the Presbyter to 4 other figures, including Dionysius the Great, Demetrius the Presbyter, Lucius the Presbyter and Dioscorus of Alexandria. 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.
Letter to Germanus / Letter to Domitius and Didymus, VII.11.24 — transmitted in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History (c. 325)
c. AD 257[Of the presbyters, Maximus, Dioscorus, Demetrius and Lucius concealed themselves in the city, and visited the brethren secretly.]Dionysius of Alexandria · Ecclesiastical History VII.11.24 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Dioscorus in the sources
This figure is placed with Dioscorus by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Dioscorus naming them in return.
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 one place the sources put Dioscorus.