Athenodorus (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Ἀθηνόδωρος), also known as Athenogenes (Greek: Ἀθηνογένης), (? – 148) was
Bishop of Byzantium
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and ''primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of the ...
from 144 until 148. During his years of office, when the city was administrated by
Zeuxippus
''Zeuxippus'' is a genus of Asian jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1891. They look similar to members of '' Rhene'', but their abdomen is longer, more obtuse, and thinner. In addition, the first pair of legs is thi ...
, there was a significant increase in the Christian population. Athenodorus commissioned the construction of a second cathedral in
Elaea, which was later renovated by Emperor
Constantine I
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
, who wanted to be buried there. Eventually, he was not buried there, as it was deemed improper for Emperors to be buried outside Byzantium. The cathedral was devoted to the martyrdoms of
Eleazar
Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses.
Biblical narrative
Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from cr ...
and of the
seven children in
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees, el, Μακκαβαίων Β´, translit=Makkabaíōn 2 also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus I ...
.
References
2nd-century Romans
2nd-century Byzantine bishops
Bishops of Byzantium
{{EarlyChurch-bishop-stub