The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Pudens the Warder
fl. 203 (converted at the martyrdom) · Prison officer converted by the martyrs · Carthage
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Pudens the Warder was
The adjutant in charge of the Carthage prison, who came to believe through the bearing of his prisoners and afterward “admitted us to better quarters,” letting visitors comfort the confessors. At the end Saturus, drenched in his own blood, drew Pudens’ ring from his finger and dipped it in the wound, leaving it him “as a pledge and memorial of his blood.” The converted jailer stands with the centurion of the Gospel and the jailer of Philippi in the church’s memory of gaolers won by the faith of the caged.
Passio Perpetuae 9, 21 only.
Also listed in martyrs.
Common questions
When was Pudens active?
Pudens the Warder is dated fl. 203 (converted at the martyrdom) in the archive, which places Pudens in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Pudens?
Pudens the Warder is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from The Passion (eyewitness redactor). Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Pudens from?
The archive associates Pudens the Warder with Carthage.
Who were Pudens’ contemporaries?
The archive links Pudens the Warder to 2 other figures, including Saturus and Vibia Perpetua. 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.
Passion of Perpetua and Felicity 21
c. AD 204Saturus… asked for a ring from the finger of Pudens the soldier, and dipping it in his wound restored it to him again, leaving him an inheritance, a pledge and memorial of his blood.The Passion (eyewitness redactor) · 21 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
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
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Pudens.