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Ambrose, venerated as Saint Ambrose, was the Bishop of Milan, a theologian, and one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century.
The First Council of Constantinople was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople in AD 381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. This second ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom, except for the Western Church, confirmed the Nicene Creed, expanding the doctrine thereof to produce the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, and dealt with sundry other matters. It met from May to July 381 in the Church of Hagia Irene and was affirmed as ecumenical in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon.
Pope Siricius was the bishop of Rome from December 384 to his death. In response to inquiries from Bishop Himerius of Tarragona, Siricius issued decrees of baptism, church discipline and other matters. These are the oldest completely preserved papal decretals. He is sometimes said to have been the first bishop of Rome to call himself pope.
Flavius Theodosius I, also called Theodosius the Great, was a Roman emperor from 379 to 395. On accepting his elevation, he campaigned against Goths and other barbarians who had invaded the Empire. His resources were not sufficient to destroy them or drive them out, which had been Roman policy for centuries in dealing with invaders. By treaty, which followed his indecisive victory at the end of the Gothic War, they were established as foederati, autonomous allies of the Empire, south of the Danube, in Illyricum, within the Empire's borders. They were given lands and allowed to remain under their own leaders, not assimilated as had been normal Roman practice. Theodosius I was obliged to fight two destructive civil wars, successively defeating the usurpers Magnus Maximus in 387–388 and Eugenius in 394, at great cost to the power of the Empire.
The 380s decade ran from January 1, 380, to December 31, 389.
Cyprian was bishop of Carthage and a notable Early Christian writer of Berber descent, many of whose Latin works are extant. He is also recognised as a saint in the Christian churches. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education. Soon after converting to Christianity, he became a bishop in 249. A controversial figure during his lifetime, his strong pastoral skills, firm conduct during the Novatianist heresy and outbreak of the Plague of Cyprian, and eventual martyrdom at Carthage established his reputation and proved his sanctity in the eyes of the Church. His skillful Latin rhetoric led to his being considered the pre-eminent Latin writer of Western Christianity until Jerome and Augustine.
The pontifex maximus was the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. A distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office. Its last use with reference to the emperors is in inscriptions of Gratian who, however, then decided to omit the words "pontifex maximus" from his title. Although in fact the most powerful office of Roman priesthood, the pontifex maximus was officially ranked fifth in the ranking of the highest Roman priests, behind the rex sacrorum and the flamines maiores.
Maximus the Confessor, also known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople, was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar.
Saint Bibiana is a Roman Virgin and Martyr. The earliest mention in an authentic historical authority occurs in the "Liber Pontificalis,", where the biography of Pope Simplicius (468–483) states that this pope "consecrated a basilica of the holy martyr Bibiana, which contained her body, near the 'palatium Licinianum' ". The Basilica of Santa Bibiana still exists.
Maximus of Ephesus was a Neoplatonist philosopher. He is said to have come from a rich family, and exercised great influence over the emperor Julian, who was commended to him by Aedesius. He pandered to the emperor's love of magic and theurgy, and by judicious administration of the omens won a high position at court. His overbearing manner made him numerous enemies, and, after being imprisoned after the death of Julian, he was put to death by Valens.
Saint Felix of Nola was a Christian presbyter at Nola near Naples in Italy. He sold off his possessions in order to give to the poor, but was arrested and tortured for his Christian faith during the persecution of the Roman emperor Decius. He was believed to have died a martyr's death during the persecution of Decius or Valerian, but is now listed in the General Roman Calendar as a confessor of the faith, who survived his tortures.
During the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (AD 306–337), Christianity began to transition to the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. Historians remain uncertain about Constantine's reasons for favoring Christianity, and theologians and historians have often argued about which form of early Christianity he subscribed to. There is no consensus among scholars as to whether he adopted his mother Helena's Christianity in his youth, or, as claimed by Eusebius of Caesarea, encouraged her to convert to the faith he had adopted himself.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria is an oil painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, painted from 1598-1599. It is part of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection of Madrid.
Felicitas of Rome, also anglicized as Felicity, is a saint numbered among the Christian martyrs. Apart from her name, the only thing known for certain about this martyr is that she was buried in the Cemetery of Maximus, on the Via Salaria on a 23 November. However, a legend presents her as the mother of the seven martyrs whose feast is celebrated on 10 July. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates their martyrdom on 25 January.
The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire occurred intermittently over a period of over two centuries betweenGreat Fire of Rome in 64 AD under Nero and the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. Following the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine the Great and his co-Augustus Licinius issued the Edict of Milan which granted religious toleration to all faiths, not just the Christian faith.
The 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia refers to victims of persecution of Christians in Nicomedia, Bithynia by the Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in the early 4th century AD.
Saint Maximus of Jerusalem was an early Christian saint and bishop of Jerusalem from roughly 333 AD to his death in roughly 350 AD. He was the third bishop of Jerusalem named Maximus, the other two being in the latter half of the 2nd century.
Saints Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise are venerated as martyrs by the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. They were killed in the 3rd century at Lampsacus, Mysia on the Hellespont.
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. There is no definitive list. The historical period during which they flourished is referred to by scholars as the Patristic Era ending approximately around AD 700.
Saint Theodosia of Tyre, according to the historian of the early Christian church Eusebius, was a seventeen-year-old girl who deliberately sought to be executed as a martyr to Christianity in the city of Caesarea in 307 AD. She was tortured, urged to reject Christianity, and, when she refused, thrown into the sea. She is commemorated on April 2.
References
- 1 2 "St. Maximus" . Retrieved 29 January 2011.
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