The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Pantaenus of Alexandria
c. 120 – c. 200 · Philosopher · Head of the catechetical school of Alexandria · Sicily → Alexandria → India
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Pantaenus of Alexandria was
“The Sicilian bee,” a converted Stoic philosopher who became the first named head of the catechetical school of Alexandria and the teacher whom Clement of Alexandria called his master, gathering from him “the true tradition of the blessed doctrine derived directly from the holy apostles.” Eusebius reports that his missionary zeal carried him as far as “India,” where he is said to have found Christians already possessing the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew letters, left (so the tradition ran) by Bartholomew. He wrote little that survived; his monument is his pupil and his school, which under Clement and Origen became the intellectual engine of the Greek church.
Common questions
When did Pantaenus live?
Pantaenus of Alexandria is dated c. 120 – c. 200 in the archive, which places Pantaenus 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.
What did Pantaenus write?
Pantaenus of Alexandria has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Commentaries on Scripture. All are lost, known only from later citation.
Which early sources mention Pantaenus?
Pantaenus of Alexandria is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome of Stridon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Pantaenus from?
The archive associates Pantaenus of Alexandria with Sicily, Alexandria, India. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
Commentaries on Scripture
The school of Alexandria's founding voice — nothing survivesMany of his commentaries on Holy Scripture are indeed extant, but his living voice was of still greater benefit to the churches. (Jerome, On Illustrious Men 36 — extant then, lost since)Lost — known only from later citation.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Stromateis I.1 (the 'Sicilian bee' — by tradition Pantaenus)
c. AD 200The true Sicilian bee, gathering the spoil of the flowers of the prophetic and apostolic meadow.Clement of Alexandria · Stromateis I.1 · source text
Ecclesiastical History V.10
c. AD 325Pantaenus was one of these, and is said to have gone to India. It is reported that among persons there who knew of Christ, he found the Gospel according to Matthew, which had anticipated his own arrival.Eusebius of Caesarea · V.10 · source text
On Illustrious Men 36
c. AD 392Pantaenus, a philosopher of the stoic school... was sent to India by Demetrius bishop of Alexandria.Jerome of Stridon · On Illustrious Men 36 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
- Clement of Alexandria
- Julian of Alexandria
- Bartholomew the Apostle
- The Epistle to Diognetus (anonymous)
- Theophilus the Indian
Events in this lifetime
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
- AD 177 · Persecution at Lyon and Vienne, AD 177
- AD 180 · The Scillitan martyrs, AD 180
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
Place
Places served
The 3 places the sources put Pantaenus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Sicilyprovince only
- 2Alexandria
- 3Indiaprovince only