The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Lucius of Cyrene
fl. c. 46 (death unrecorded) · Prophet and teacher of Antioch · Cyrene → Antioch
The Apostolic Age
Who Lucius of Cyrene was
One of the five prophets and teachers of Antioch at the sending of Barnabas and Saul, and likely among those “men of Cyprus and Cyrene” who had first preached to Greeks at Antioch at all. Some ancients and moderns identify him with the “Lucius my kinsman” who greets the Romans from Corinth (Rom 16:21); the fathers occasionally, and implausibly, tried to make him Luke. Cyrene’s Jewish colony gave the church several founders; Lucius is their named representative.
Common questions
When was Lucius active?
Lucius of Cyrene is dated fl. c. 46 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Lucius in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). 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 Lucius?
Lucius of Cyrene is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Paul of Tarsus and Luke. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Lucius from?
The archive associates Lucius of Cyrene with Cyrene, Antioch. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Lucius’ contemporaries?
The archive links Lucius of Cyrene to 4 other figures, including Simeon called Niger, Manaen, Barnabas of Cyprus and Paul of Tarsus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Romans 16:21 (traditionally the same Lucius)
c. AD 57Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.Paul of Tarsus · read ↗
Acts 13:1
c. AD 85…as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen… and Saul.Luke · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Lucius, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.