The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Marcellinus the Presbyter
d. c. AD 304 (beheaded) · Priest of Rome · Martyr of the Via Labicana · Rome
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Marcellinus the Presbyter was
A priest of Rome beheaded with the exorcist Peter in the Great Persecution and buried on the Via Labicana 'at the two laurels' — the pair whose names entered the Roman Canon itself. Damasus, who tells us he heard the story in boyhood from the executioner's own mouth, cut their epigram: made to dig their grave in a thicket so none would find them, they were betrayed to honour by the woman Lucilla.
Also listed in martyrs and the great persecution.
Common questions
When did Marcellinus die?
Marcellinus the Presbyter is dated d. c. AD 304 (beheaded) in the archive, which places Marcellinus 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 Marcellinus?
Marcellinus the Presbyter is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Damasus I of Rome, Damasus of Rome and Latin liturgical tradition. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Marcellinus from?
The archive associates Marcellinus the Presbyter with Rome.
Who were Marcellinus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Marcellinus the Presbyter to 2 other figures, including Peter the Exorcist and Emperor Diocletian. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Epigrams of Damasus (on Marcellinus and Peter)
c. AD 375Your executioner himself, when I was a boy, told me of it, Damasus: the raging headsman bade you dig your own graves in the thicket, that your bodies might lie hidden.Damasus I of Rome · source text
The Damasan epigram Ferrua 28, catacomb of Petrus and Marcellinus — for Marcellinus and Peter, cut by Furius Dionysius Filocalus
c. AD 375[Damasus set a verse epitaph at this tomb; the epigram is an epigraphic attestation additional to the literary record.]Damasus of Rome · Damasan epigram, Ferrua 28, catacomb of Petrus and Marcellinus — for Marcellinus and Peter · source text
The Roman Canon (Nobis quoque)
c. AD 600…with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter…Latin liturgical tradition · source text
Connected in the archive
People
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 Marcellinus.
- 1Rome