Abercius of Hieropolis (; died c. 167) was a Christian clergyman from Hierapolis at the time of Roman emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

. He is maybe identical to an author who is called Avircius Marcellus in later sources. It is generally considered – although not indisputable – that he was bishop of Hierapolis and as such the successor to Papias.

Biography

Abercius is said to have evangelized across

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

, and it is on that basis that he is referred to as one of the Equals-to-the-Apostles. He was imprisoned under Marcus Aurelius, and died about 167. Abercius'

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is celebrated on 22 October (for those churches which follow the

Julian Calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

, 22 October occurs on the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

date of 4 November).

Works

Several works are ascribed to Abercius: # ''An Epistle to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius'', of which

Baronius Cesare Baronio, C.O. (as an author also known as Caesar Baronius; 30 August 1538 – 30 June 1607) was an Italian Oratorian, cardinal and historian of the Catholic Church. His best-known works are his ''Annales Ecclesiastici'' ("Ecclesiast ...

speaks as extant, but he does not produce it # A ''Book of Discipline'' (Greek ) addressed to his clergy; this too is lost. Abercius is also the subject, and probable author, of the

Inscription of Abercius The inscription of Abercius is the Greek epitaph of Abercius who was probably Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia. It is an important example of early Christian epigraphy. Archeology and context In the second half of the 2nd century, Abercius left ...

, preserved in the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

Controversy over location of Abercius' bishopric

William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements ...

has said that "Abercius was bishop of

Hieropolis Hierapolis /ˌhaɪəˈræpəlɪs/ ( ''Ierapolis'') or Hieropolis (Ιερόπολις) was a town of the Phrygian Pentapolis in ancient Phrygia, inhabited during Roman and Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empir ...

in the valley of Sandukli and not of

Hierapolis Hierapolis (; , lit. "Holy City") was a Hellenistic Greek city built on the site of a Phrygian cult center of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele, in Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It was famous for its hot springs, its high qualit ...

in the Maeander valley, for the latter was in Phrygia Magna, or Pacatiana." He states that "The confusion of the two towns Hierapolis and Hieropolis has produced much error in early Christian history. ... Hierapolis of Salutaris must always be interpreted as the Hieropolis in the valley of Sandukli: Hierapolis near Laodicea is ''always'' assigned in the Byzantine authorities to Pacatiana".

J. B. Lightfoot Joseph Barber Lightfoot (13 April 1828 – 21 December 1889), known as J. B. Lightfoot, was an English theologian and Bishop of Durham. Life Lightfoot was born in Liverpool, where his father John Jackson Lightfoot was an accountant. His m ...

said that "the city of Abercius was not Hierapolis on the Mæander but this Hieropolis near Synnada." ''

The Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' notes that Ramsay "discovered at Kelendres, near Synnada, in Phrygia Salutaris (Asia Minor), a Christian ''stele'' (inscribed slab) bearing the date of the year 300 of the Phrygian era (216 AD). The inscription in question recalled the memory of a certain Alexander, son of Anthony. De Rossi and Duchesne at once recognized in it phrases similar to those in the epitaph of Abercius. On comparison it was found that the inscription in memory of Alexander corresponded, almost word for word, with the first and last verses of the epitaph of the Bishop of Hieropolis; all the middle part was missing. Mr. Ramsay, on a second visit to the site of Hieropolis, in 1883, discovered two new fragments covered with inscriptions, built into the masonry of the public baths. These fragments, which are now in the Vatican Christian Museum, filled out the middle part of the ''stele'' inscribed with the epitaph of Abercius. It now became possible, with the help of the text preserved in the ''Life'', to restore the original text of the epitaph with practical certainty."

References

Citations

Sources

* * Holweck, F. G., ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924. *

External links

St Abercius the Bishop and Wonderworker of Hieropolis, Equal of the Apostles
Orthodox

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

and

synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...

Saint Abercius, Equal to the Apostles
from the ''Prologue from Ochrid'' by Bishop

Nikolai Velimirovich Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or N ...

Bishop Abercius Marcellus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abercius Of Hieropolis Syrian Christian saints Year of birth unknown 167 deaths 2nd-century bishops in Roman Anatolia 2nd-century Christian saints Saints of Roman Phrygia