The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Pacian of Barcelona
d. c. AD 391 (in extreme old age) · Bishop of Barcelona · 'Christian is my name, Catholic my surname' · Barcelona, Hispania
The Nicene Age
Who Pacian of Barcelona was
The bishop of Barcelona whose letters against the Novatianist rigorists coined the sentence every later century borrowed — 'Christian is my name, Catholic my surname' — and whose little treatises on penance and baptism speak with a pastor's mildness rare in the polemics of the age. Jerome, who catalogued him, dedicated the catalogue itself to Pacian's son Dexter, praetorian prefect: a bishop's house risen to the empire's summit in one generation.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Pacian die?
Pacian of Barcelona is dated d. c. AD 391 (in extreme old age) in the archive, which places Pacian 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.
What did Pacian write?
Pacian of Barcelona has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Letters to Sympronian, Exhortation to Penance, On Baptism.
Which early sources mention Pacian?
Pacian of Barcelona is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Jerome of Stridon and Jerome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Pacian from?
The archive associates Pacian of Barcelona with Barcelona, Hispania. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
Letters to Sympronian, Exhortation to Penance, On Baptism
The gentlest polemic of the century, and its one immortal sentenceChristian is my name, Catholic my surname: the one names me, the other marks me out.Read the interlinear source text →
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
On Illustrious Men 132 (his son Dexter's entry names the father)
c. AD 392Dexter, son of Pacianus whom I mentioned above, distinguished in his generation and devoted to the Christian faith.Jerome of Stridon · On Illustrious Men 132 · source text
On Illustrious Men 106
c. AD 393Pacian, bishop of Barcelona in the Pyrenees, of chaste eloquence and celebrated as much by his life as by his speech, wrote various short works, among them the Deer and Against the Novatians, and died in extreme old age under Theodosius.Jerome · 106 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- 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
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Pacian.
- 1Hispaniaprovince only