Chapter 5, Marcus Aurelius to Severus Summary and Analysis

Bishop Soter was followed by Eleutherus, the twelfth Roman Bishop since the apostles, and the year was the seventeenth of the reign of Antoninus Verus, or Marcus Aurelius, in A.D. 177. Persecution of the Church flared up and many martyrs "came to their glory."

Gaul had numerous martyrs; Eusebius describes it as a faraway country, whose capital cities are Lyons and Vienne on the Rhone. An account of the martyrs was sent to Asia and Phrigia. Eusebius then prints the account. In other provinces similar martyrdoms occurred.

Another story is worth repeating, concerning Alcibiades who lived in extreme poverty but later gave this up. At that time, he, Montanus and Theodotus gained a reputation for prophecy. The Gallic Christians sent reports on these matters to Christians in the East and praised Irenaeus. In...