The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Paul of Constantinople
d. c. AD 351 (strangled at Cucusus) · Nicene bishop of Constantinople · Martyr of the Arian ascendancy · Constantinople → Cucusus, Cappadocia
The Nicene Age
Who Paul of Constantinople was
The Nicene bishop of the new capital, elected and exiled, restored and expelled again as the court's theology shifted — five tenures and four banishments in all, his partisans and Macedonius's rioting in the streets between them. Deported at last to Cucusus in Cappadocia, he was shut up without food and strangled: the capital's first martyr-bishop, by the hands of churchmen.
Also listed in the bishops of Constantinople, martyrs and heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When did Paul die?
Paul of Constantinople is dated d. c. AD 351 (strangled at Cucusus) in the archive, which places Paul 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 Paul?
Paul of Constantinople is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Athanasius of Alexandria and Socrates Scholasticus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Paul from?
The archive associates Paul of Constantinople with Constantinople, Cucusus, Cappadocia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Paul’s contemporaries?
The archive links Paul of Constantinople to 3 other figures, including Athanasius of Alexandria, Emperor Constantius II and Macedonius of Constantinople. 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.
History of the Arians 7
c. AD 350Paul, bishop of Constantinople… they carried him to Cucusus in Cappadocia, a desert place, and there, as those who were with him relate, they strangled him — Philip the prefect furnishing the ministers of the deed.Athanasius of Alexandria · 7 · source text
Ecclesiastical History II.16 (the strangling at Cucusus)
c. AD 440Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- 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
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Paul, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.
- 1Constantinople
- 2Cappadociaprovince only