The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Tarsicius
d. mid-third century (martyr) · Acolyte · Martyr · Rome
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Tarsicius was
An acolyte killed by a crowd in the street while carrying the consecrated bread, which he would not surrender. He is attested by one thing only: the verse epitaph Damasus set over his grave in the catacomb of Callixtus between 366 and 384, cut in stone by Filocalus. Damasus compares him to Stephen, and says he chose to be beaten to death rather than give up the sacrament to dogs. Every later Passion of Tarsicius derives from this poem and adds nothing independent to it — which makes the stone not a corroboration but the whole of the evidence.
Named once, in a verse epigram Damasus of Rome set at the tomb between 366 and 384. The epigram is the ONLY early evidence — the later Passions derive from it, not the reverse.
Also listed in martyrs.
Common questions
When did Tarsicius die?
Tarsicius is dated d. mid-third century (martyr) in the archive, which places Tarsicius in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313).
Which early sources mention Tarsicius?
Tarsicius is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Damasus of Rome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Tarsicius from?
The archive associates Tarsicius with Rome.
Who were Tarsicius’ contemporaries?
The archive links Tarsicius to 2 other figures, including Damasus I of Rome and Furius Dionysius Filocalus. 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.
The Damasan epigram Ferrua 15, catacomb of Callixtus, cut by Furius Dionysius Filocalus at the martyr’s tomb
c. AD 375[Damasus records that Tarsicius, carrying the sacraments of Christ, was set upon by a mob and beaten to death rather than yield the holy things to the profane.]Damasus of Rome · Damasan epigram, Ferrua 15, catacomb of Callixtus · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Tarsicius.
- 1Rome