The Apologists · AD 130–180
Thraseas of Eumenia
d. c. AD 165 (martyr, buried at Smyrna) · Bishop of Eumenia · Martyr · Eumenia, Phrygia → Smyrna
The Apologists
Who Thraseas of Eumenia was
Phrygian bishop and martyr whom Polycrates of Ephesus lists among the 'great luminaries' of Asia sleeping until the Lord's coming — buried at Smyrna beside the tradition of Polycarp, and a Quartodeciman like all his line.
Also listed in martyrs, bishops beyond the great sees and under marcus aurelius.
Common questions
When did Thraseas die?
Thraseas of Eumenia is dated d. c. AD 165 (martyr, buried at Smyrna) in the archive, which places Thraseas in the Apologists (AD 130–180). 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 Thraseas?
Thraseas of Eumenia is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Polycrates of Ephesus and Apollonius the Anti-Montanist. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Thraseas from?
The archive associates Thraseas of Eumenia with Eumenia, Phrygia, Smyrna. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Thraseas’ contemporaries?
The archive links Thraseas of Eumenia to 2 other figures, including Polycrates of Ephesus and Polycarp of Smyrna. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Polycrates to Victor, via Ecclesiastical History V.24
c. AD 195Great luminaries sleep in Asia… Thraseas, bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who sleeps in Smyrna. All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel.Polycrates of Ephesus · V.24 · source text
Apollonius, via Ecclesiastical History V.18 ('the blessed Thraseas' among the martyrs)
c. AD 200There is said to have been a certain Thraseas, one of the martyrs of that time.Apollonius the Anti-Montanist · Ecclesiastical History V.18 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
- 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
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Thraseas, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.