Julian the Confessor

d. AD 250 (burned) · Gout-stricken layman · Martyr · Alexandria

The Ante-Nicene Church

Who Julian the Confessor was

The first martyr Dionysius names after the Decian edict reached Alexandria. He was so crippled by gout that he could neither stand nor walk, and had to be carried to his trial by two men; one of them denied Christ on the spot and is left unnamed in the record. Julian and the bearer who stayed with him were paraded through the city on camels, scourged from that height, and burned before the whole populace. Distinct from Julian of Alexandria, the bishop who died about 189, and from Julian Saba.

Verified single attestation

Named once in Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History; no other ancient source names him.

Also listed in martyrs and the decian persecution.

Common questions

When did Julian die?

Julian the Confessor is dated d. AD 250 (burned) in the archive, which places Julian in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).

Which early sources mention Julian?

Julian the Confessor 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 Julian from?

The archive associates Julian the Confessor with Alexandria.

Who were Julian’s contemporaries?

The archive links Julian the Confessor to 4 other figures, including Cronion Eunus, Besas, Dionysius the Great and Fabius of Antioch. 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 Fabius of Antioch, VI.41.15 — transmitted in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History (c. 325)

c. AD 251

But the other, whose name was Cronion, and whose surname was Eunus, and the old man Julian himself, both of them having confessed the Lord, were carried on camels through the entire city, which, as you know, is a very large one, and in this elevated position were beaten and finally burned in a fierce fire, surrounded by all the populace.

Dionysius of Alexandria · Ecclesiastical History VI.41.15 · source text