The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313 · External witness
Emperor Aurelian
d. AD 275 · Roman Emperor (270–275) · Rome → the East → Thrace
External witness
Who Emperor Aurelian was
The soldier-emperor who reunited a fractured empire and, remarkably, was called upon to settle a church dispute: when the deposed Paul of Samosata refused to surrender the church building at Antioch, Aurelian ruled — in the first imperial adjudication of an ecclesiastical property case — that it belonged to those with whom “the bishops of Italy and of Rome” were in communion. Toward the end of his reign he is said to have been preparing a fresh persecution, cut short by his assassination in Thrace. His Antioch ruling, though made by a pagan for pragmatic reasons, set a striking precedent: communion with Rome as the state’s test of the true church.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and roman emperors.
Common questions
When did Emperor Aurelian die?
Emperor Aurelian is dated d. AD 275 in the archive, which places Emperor Aurelian in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Emperor Aurelian?
Emperor Aurelian is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Lactantius and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Emperor Aurelian from?
The archive associates Emperor Aurelian with Rome, the East, Thrace. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Emperor Aurelian’s contemporaries?
The archive links Emperor Aurelian to 4 other figures, including Emperor Gallienus, Paul of Samosata, Domnus of Antioch and Zenobia of Palmyra. 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.
On the Deaths of the Persecutors 6 (the persecution stopped by his assassination)
c. AD 315His bloody edicts had not yet reached the more distant provinces, when he himself was slain at Caenophrurium.Lactantius · On the Deaths 6 · source text
Ecclesiastical History VII.30
c. AD 325Aurelian… decided the question most equitably, ordering the building to be given to those to whom the bishops of Italy and of the city of Rome should adjudge it.Eusebius of Caesarea · VII.30 · 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
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Emperor Aurelian, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.