Demetrianus

Who is Demetrianus?

Demetrianus was a former pupil of Lactantius; little is known about Demetrianus. It was to him that Lactantius, a convert to Christianity, addressed his book On the Workmanship of God, probably written in Bithynia around 304 C.E. In Divine Institutes 2.10.15, Lactantius also mentioned having written for Demetrianus about God’s workmanship.

Lactantius urged him not to allow wealth to lead him away from virtue. In addition Jerome wrote of Lactantius, “we have his…two books of letters to Demetrianus”. Demetrianus seems to have had an official job, and its description seems to contain another reference to Christianity. In 1.9 of the same book, Lactantius reminded Demetrianus where his real allegiance lay. The evidence clearly points to Demetrianus having been a Christian.