eul_aid: rcq
Ἐπιτάφιον τοῦ Ἀβερκίου
Epitaph of Abercius
1 work

The Epitaph of Abercius is a late 2nd-century CE Christian funerary inscription commissioned by Abercius, a citizen of Hieropolis in Phrygia Salutaris who died at the age of 72. It is traditionally, though debatably, linked to Avircius Marcellus, a bishop of Hieropolis. The text presents Abercius as a traveler who visited Christian communities in Rome, Syria, and Mesopotamia.

The sole work is the inscribed funerary poem itself, known as the Epitaph of Abercius or the Abercius Inscription. It is a historically crucial, public declaration of Christian faith from the Roman imperial period. The inscription provides early evidence for the geographical spread of Christian communities, their self-conception as a universal church, and their use of symbolic language, such as "the Fish" for Christ and references to the Eucharist. Rediscovered in the late 19th century, a copy is housed in the Lateran Museum.

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Ἐπιτάφιον
Epitaph
3 passages