The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Faustus the Deacon
fl. AD 250–257; d. c. AD 303 (martyr, in old age) · Deacon of Alexandria · Martyr · Alexandria
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Faustus the Deacon was
Deacon to Dionysius and one of the party seized with him at Taposiris, then arrested with him again under Valerian in 257. He outlived both persecutions and was beheaded as a very old man in the Great Persecution more than forty years later — the only one of Dionysius’ four rescue-witnesses who can be followed safely through the record, which is why the other three are deliberately left out of the archive.
Also listed in martyrs and the great persecution.
Common questions
When was Faustus active?
Faustus the Deacon is dated fl. AD 250–257; d. c. AD 303 (martyr, in old age) in the archive, which places Faustus in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Faustus?
Faustus the Deacon is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Faustus from?
The archive associates Faustus the Deacon with Alexandria.
Who were Faustus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Faustus the Deacon to 3 other figures, including Dionysius the Great, Chaeremon the Deacon and Eusebius of Laodicea. 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.
Ecclesiastical History VI.40.9
c. AD 325[Named among those with Dionysius at the Taposiris rescue.]Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History VI.40.9 · source text
Ecclesiastical History VII.11.26
c. AD 325Faustus… survived until the persecution in our day, and there, being very aged, he was beheaded and adorned with martyrdom.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History VII.11.26 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Faustus in the sources
This figure is placed with Faustus by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Faustus naming them in return.
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
- 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
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Faustus.