Caius, Presbyter of Rome (also known as ''Gaius'') was a Christian author who lived and wrote towards the beginning of the 3rd century. Only fragments of his works are known, which are given in the collection entitled ''The

Ante-Nicene Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

.'' However, the Muratorian fragment, an early attempt to establish the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, is often attributed to Caius and is included in that collection. Caius was noted for his role in theological debates within the early Christian church. He is described by Eusebius as a presbyter of the Roman church, though this is inferred rather than explicitly stated. His most notable contribution is a dialogue purported to be held in Rome during the episcopate of Zephyrinus (AD 201-219), where he debates Proclus, a leader of the Montanists, about the legitimacy of Montanist prophecy. For the existing fragments from Caius' "Dialogue or Disputation Against Proclus," we are indebted to

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

, who included them in his ''

Ecclesiastical History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

''. In one of these fragments, Caius tells Proclus, :"And I can show the trophies of the apostles. For if you choose to go to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

or to the Ostian Road, you will find the trophies of those who founded this church." This is described by 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 ...

'' as "a very valuable evidence of the death of Sts.

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

at Rome, and the public veneration of their remains at Rome about the year 200." There is also another series of fragments Eusebius gives from a work called "Against the Heresy of Artemon," although the ''Ante-Nicene Fathers'' note says regarding the authorship only that it is "an anonymous work ascribed by some to Caius." Caius was also one of the authors to whom the "Discourse to the Greeks concerning Hades" was ascribed at one time. (It was also attributed, much more famously, to

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

and still appears in editions of the

William Whiston William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to inst ...

translation of his collected works, but is now known to be excerpted from a work by

Hippolytus of Rome Hippolytus of Rome ( , ; Romanized: , – ) was a Bishop of Rome and one of the most important second–third centuries Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communitie ...

.) (Part of th
Flavius Josephus Home Page
of G.J. Goldberg.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caius Church Fathers 3rd-century Christian clergy 3rd-century writers

See also

References