The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Fabian of Rome
d. 20 January 250 · Bishop of Rome · Martyr of the Decian persecution · Rome
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Fabian of Rome was
Bishop of Rome for fourteen years (236–250), elected — Eusebius relates the marvel — when a dove settled on the head of an unknown layman from the countryside and the assembly took it for a sign. An able organizer, he divided Rome into seven diaconal districts and sent missionary bishops into Gaul. He fell in the first days of the Decian persecution, the first of its great victims; Cyprian, writing to the leaderless Roman clergy, called his the death of “an incomparable man, the glory of whose death corresponded with the purity and goodness of his life.” His grave marker survives in the papal crypt: “Fabian, bishop, martyr.”
Also listed in the bishops of Rome, martyrs and the decian persecution.
Common questions
When did Fabian die?
Fabian of Rome is dated d. 20 January 250 in the archive, which places Fabian in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Fabian?
Fabian of Rome is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Cyprian of Carthage, Eusebius of Caesarea and The chronographer of 354. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Fabian from?
The archive associates Fabian of Rome with Rome.
Who were Fabian’s contemporaries?
The archive links Fabian of Rome to 4 other figures, including Anterus of Rome, Cornelius of Rome, Emperor Decius and Moyses of Rome. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Epistle 9 (Cyprian to the Roman clergy, on 'the glorious end' of Fabian)
c. AD 250He administered the office committed to him with integrity, and ended it with an honourable death.Cyprian of Carthage · Epistle 9 · source text
Ecclesiastical History VI.29 & 39
c. AD 325A dove flying down lighted upon his head… and thereupon all the people, as if moved by one divine spirit, with all eagerness and unanimity cried out that he was worthy, and set him upon the episcopal seat.Eusebius of Caesarea · 39 · source text
Depositio martyrum: 'XIII Kal. Feb. Fabiani in Callisti'
c. AD 354XIII Kal. Feb.: Fabiani in Callisti — Fabian, in the cemetery of Callistus.The chronographer of 354 · Depositio martyrum · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- 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
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Fabian.
- 1Rome