The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Florinus of Rome
deposed c. AD 190 · Roman presbyter · Lapsed to Valentinianism · Rome
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Florinus of Rome was
A presbyter who had sat, as a young man, at Polycarp's feet with Irenaeus — and later drifted to Valentinian doctrine at Rome. Irenaeus's letter to him, 'On the Sole Sovereignty of God,' preserves the era's most piercing appeal to shared memory: 'These doctrines the elders before us did not hand down to thee.'
Irenaeus only (letter and treatise, both via Eusebius V.20).
Common questions
When did Florinus live?
Florinus of Rome is dated deposed c. AD 190 in the archive, which places Florinus 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 Florinus?
Florinus of Rome is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Irenaeus of Lyon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Florinus from?
The archive associates Florinus of Rome with Rome.
Who were Florinus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Florinus of Rome to 4 other figures, including Irenaeus of Lyon, Polycarp of Smyrna, Valentinus and Blastus of Rome. 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.
Irenaeus to Florinus, via Ecclesiastical History V.20
c. AD 180These doctrines, Florinus, to speak mildly, are not of sound judgment… I remember the events of that time more clearly than those of recent years: how the blessed Polycarp would speak of his intercourse with John and with the rest of those who had seen the Lord.Irenaeus of Lyon · V.20 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Florinus.
- 1Rome