The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Marcellina
d. c. AD 397 · Consecrated virgin · Sister of Ambrose · Rome
The Nicene Age
Who Marcellina was
The elder sister of Ambrose, consecrated a virgin by Pope Liberius in St Peter's on a Christmas day of the 350s — an event Ambrose himself describes — and the dedicatee of his three books De virginibus, cast as instruction sent home to her. His letters to her, written from the thick of his battles at Milan, show the bishop unburdened.
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When did Marcellina die?
Marcellina is dated d. c. AD 397 in the archive, which places Marcellina in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). 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 Marcellina?
Marcellina is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Ambrose of Milan and Paulinus of Milan. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Marcellina from?
The archive associates Marcellina with Rome.
Who were Marcellina’s contemporaries?
The archive links Marcellina to 2 other figures, including Ambrose of Milan and Liberius of Rome. 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.
Ambrose, On Virgins III.1, addressed to Marcellina (AD 377; original Latin, working translation)
c. AD 385[Contemporary — her brother's book, written to her.] Thou didst receive the veil of virginity at St Peter's, on the birthday of the Saviour, at the hands of Liberius of blessed memory; and what he then spoke to thee, I set down as thou thyself hast recalled it to me.Ambrose of Milan · source text
Life of Ambrose 4 (her memories a declared source of the biography)
c. AD 422Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
- AD 397 · Carthage confirms the canon, AD 397
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Marcellina.
- 1Rome