Adelfius () was a Romano-British bishop, possibly from

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...

(London),

Lindum Lindum Colonia was the Latin name for the settlement which is now the City of Lincoln in Lincolnshire. It was founded as a Roman Legionary Fortress during the reign of the Emperor Nero (58–68 AD) or possibly later. Evidence from Roman tomb ...

(Lincoln), Camulodunum (Colchester) or Legionensium (

Caerleon Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...

), who was part of the British delegation who attended the church council held at Arles, in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, in AD 314.

Council of Arles (314)

The first council of Arles was the first council called by

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

, and took place in

Arelate Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

in 314, a year after the

Edict of Milan The Edict of Milan ( la, Edictum Mediolanense; el, Διάταγμα τῶν Μεδιολάνων, ''Diatagma tōn Mediolanōn'') was the February 313 AD agreement to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire. Frend, W. H. C. ( ...

which made Christianity a legal religion."Arles, Synod of" in ''

Chambers's Encyclopædia ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia'' was founded in 1859Chambers, W. & R"Concluding Notice"in ''Chambers's Encyclopaedia''. London: W. & R. Chambers, 1868, Vol. 10, pp. v–viii. by William Chambers (publisher), William and Robert Chambers (publisher ...

''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 1, p. 597. The list of those who signed the ''Acta'' – the decisions made by the Council – included three bishops from Britain, along with a presbyter and a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

W. H. C. Frend William Hugh Clifford Frend (11 January 1916 – 1 August 2005) was an English ecclesiastical historian, archaeologist, and Anglican priest. Academic career * Haileybury College (scholar) * Keble College, Oxford (scholar, BA first class in mo ...

in the

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

says that the presbyter and deacon were accompanying Adelfius, suggesting his was the senior see. This list only survives in later manuscript copies, the oldest and best of which (the Corbie Codex, from the 6th or 7th century) names the British bishops as: * Eborius "de civitate Eboracensi" – from the city of Eboracum (

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

); * Restitutus "de civitate Londenensi" – from the city of

(London); * Adelfius "de civitate Colonia Londenensium" – that is, from the "'' colonia'' of the people of London". The Toulouse codex lists Adelfius as simply "ex civitate Colonia".

Letter to Pope Sylvester

Haddan and Stubbs note that Adelfius also appears as a signatory to a synodal letter to

Pope Sylvester I Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, 285 – 31 December 335) was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death. He filled the see of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, yet very little is known of him. The acco ...

; however, his see is not mentioned.

Uncertainty regarding see

It has been generally agreed that the surviving copies of the ''Acta'' of the Council of Arles must be corrupt in assigning two bishops to London. Since London was not a ''colonia'' - suspicion has fallen on the place of origin of Adelfius, listed as bishop of the "''colonia'' of the people of London". Most authorities have suggested emending "Colonia Londenensium" to "Colonia Lindensium" – the ''colonia'' of the people of

( Lincoln). Others, including Haddan and Stubbs and the 1885

, proposed reading the location as Legionensium (

Caerleon-on-Usk Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roma ...

), though Miller disputed this as this was also not a ''colonia'', and seemed an unlikely place to give rise to a bishop. S. N. Miller considered that the word "colonia" was also suspect, noting that although many other ''coloniae'' had sent bishops to Arles, including York as well as

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

, none had been designated "colonia" in the list. Miller argued that "de civitate Colonia Londenensium" was a mistake for "de civitate Camu/lodunensium" – "the city of the people of Camulodunum" (

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

). This view was supported by archaeologist Sir Ian Richmond.

In popular culture

Adelfius is portrayed as a character in the play ''Aaron and Julia'' by Oliver Myers, set in Roman Caerleon.

Notes

References