The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Theognis of Nicaea
fl. 325 – c. 340 (death uncertain) · Arian bishop of Nicaea · Signer under protest · Nicaea, Bithynia
The Nicene Age
Who Theognis of Nicaea was
Bishop of the council's own city and one of Arius's first episcopal patrons — who signed the creed at Nicaea under imperial pressure but balked at the anathemas, was exiled with Eusebius of Nicomedia three months later, and returned by recantation to spend the next decades unpicking what he had signed. The council's host see, on the losing side of its own council.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees and heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When was Theognis active?
Theognis of Nicaea is dated fl. 325 – c. 340 (death uncertain) in the archive, which places Theognis 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 Theognis?
Theognis of Nicaea is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Philostorgius, Socrates Scholasticus and Theodoret of Cyrus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Theognis from?
The archive associates Theognis of Nicaea with Nicaea, Bithynia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Theognis’ contemporaries?
The archive links Theognis of Nicaea to 2 other figures, including Arius and Eusebius of Nicomedia. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Church History II.1b (among the exiled and restored)
c. AD 430Ecclesiastical History I.14 (the recantation letter quoted)
c. AD 440Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret I.19–20
c. AD 449Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea… subscribed the faith, but would not subscribe the deposition of Arius; and the emperor sent them into banishment.Theodoret of Cyrus · I.19 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- 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
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Theognis, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.