Jump to content

Lactantius

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MichaelTinkler (talk | contribs) at 00:47, 2 November 2001 (adding labarum, which is why I wrote the entry in the first place). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius, early Christian author in Latin (died around 320). Lactantius, a native of north Africa, taught rhetoric in various cities of the eastern half of the Roman Empire, ending in Constantinople. He wrote works explaining Christianity and defending it from pagan philosophers. His Divinae Institutiones ("Divine Institutions") is an early example of a systematic presentation of Christian thought.


Lactantius preserves for us the story of Constantine I's vision of the labarum before his conversion to Christianity.