The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Rufus of Rome
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · “Chosen in the Lord” · Possibly son of Simon of Cyrene · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Rufus of Rome was
“Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.” Mark, writing (by the oldest tradition) for Rome, explains Simon of Cyrene to his readers as “the father of Alexander and Rufus” — a note useless unless Rufus was known in that church. The convergence of the two texts, though unprovable, is the kind the first-century evidence rarely allows and historians rarely resist: the cross-bearer’s son, eklektos, among the saints of Rome.
Common questions
When was Rufus active?
Rufus of Rome is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Rufus in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130). 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 Rufus?
Rufus of Rome is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Mark the Evangelist, Paul and Origen of Alexandria. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Rufus from?
The archive associates Rufus of Rome with Rome.
Who were Rufus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Rufus of Rome to 4 other figures, including Simon of Cyrene, The Mother of Rufus, John Mark and Alexander, son of Simon of Cyrene. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Mark 15:21 (son of the cross-bearer)
c. AD 55Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus.Mark the Evangelist · read ↗
Origen, Commentary on Romans X (on 'chosen in the Lord')
c. AD 246Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Rufus.
- 1Rome