The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Nundinarius
fl. AD 320 (death unrecorded) · Deacon of Cirta · Prosecutor of Silvanus · Cirta (Constantina), Numidia
The Nicene Age
Who Nundinarius was
The deacon Silvanus had ordained and then degraded, who answered by taking his bishop to court. He assembled the case himself — the municipal acts of 303, the letters in which two bishops begged him to keep quiet, and a written bill of accusation addressed to the whole clergy of Cirta — and prosecuted it in person before the governor. Optatus names him as the editor of the acts of the Cirta election. Almost everything the church knows about the origin of the Donatist schism it knows because one degraded deacon refused to be appeased.
Named once, in the Gesta apud Zenophilum — the Cirta records of 19 May 303 and 13 December 320; no other ancient source names him.
Common questions
When was Nundinarius active?
Nundinarius is dated fl. AD 320 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Nundinarius in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Nundinarius?
Nundinarius is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Gesta apud Zenophilum. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Nundinarius from?
The archive associates Nundinarius with Cirta (Constantina), Numidia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Nundinarius’ contemporaries?
The archive links Nundinarius to 5 other figures, including Silvanus of Cirta, Domitius Zenophilus, Purpurius of Limata and Fortis. 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.
The trial before Domitius Zenophilus, 13 December 320
c. AD 320Nundinarius the deacon said: ‘He knows quite well, for he himself gave up the codices.’ … ‘Christ is witness and His Angels, that they with whom you have been in communion have been Betrayers — that is to say, Silvanus of Cirta is a Betrayer, and a thief of the goods of the poor.’Gesta apud Zenophilum · Gesta apud Zenophilum, trial of 13 December 320 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Nundinarius in the sources
These figures are placed with Nundinarius by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Nundinarius naming them in return.
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Nundinarius, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.