The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Philippus
fl. c. AD 220s (death unrecorded) · Disciple of Bardaisan · Author of the Book of the Laws of the Countries · Edessa, Osrhoene
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Philippus was
A disciple of Bardaisan who wrote down the dialogue on fate and free will that survives as the Book of the Laws of the Countries — naming himself in the text as one of the interlocutors. It is one of the earliest original Syriac prose works, and the most important surviving witness to Bardaisan’s actual teaching rather than his opponents’ report of it. Cureton’s 1855 edition, with the Syriac and an English translation, is public domain.
Named once, by a source inside the horizon, as the addressee or named party of a surviving work; no other ancient source names him.
Common questions
When was Philippus active?
Philippus is dated fl. c. AD 220s (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Philippus 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 Philippus write?
Philippus has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: The Book of the Laws of the Countries (Liber Legum Regionum).
Which early sources mention Philippus?
Philippus is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Philippus, disciple of Bardaisan. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Philippus from?
The archive associates Philippus with Edessa, Osrhoene. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
The Book of the Laws of the Countries (Liber Legum Regionum)
c. AD 220s[Cureton, Spicilegium Syriacum (1855), Syriac with English — public domain.]Read the interlinear source text →
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Book of the Laws of the Countries — Philippus names himself as the recorder of the dialogue
c. AD 225[The dialogue is set down by Philippus, who is present in it as a speaker; Bardaisan answers the questions on fate and human freedom.]Philippus, disciple of Bardaisan · Book of the Laws of the Countries · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Philippus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.