Title:

Alternate names/spellings: Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius

Dates: 240 - 320 (Dates are approximate. ) 

Lactantius was a Christian apologist of the early 4th century. He was trained as a rhetorician in the Eastern Roman Empire, ending up in Constantinople. He wrote apologetic works defending Christianity using frameworks derived from Hellenistic philosophy — in his Divine Institutes, his most important theological work, he is as likely to quote from classical poets and the Sibylline Oracles as he is from canonical scripture. He became friends with Emperor Constantine after the latter’s conversion, which is reflected in the later editions of his work. He eventually became the tutor to Constantine’s son, Crispus.