List of converts to Christianity from paganism
This is a list of notable converts to Christianity from pagan religions. Paganism is a term which, from a Western perspective, has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or cultic practices or beliefs of any folk religion, and of historical and contemporary polytheistic religions in particular.
While the term has historically been used to denote adherents of any non-Abrahamic faith, for the purposes of this list, only adherents of non-major polytheistic, shamanistic, pantheistic, or animistic religions will be listed in this section.
British Isles/Celtic/Germanic (excluding Norse) paganism
- Aebbe the Elder - Scottish monastic founder.[1]
- Saint Alban - first Christian martyr in Britain.[2]
- Cenwalh of Wessex - King of Wessex.[3]
- Constantine of Cornwall - 6th-century king of Dumnonia.[citation needed]
- Saint Constantine of Strathclyde - King of Strathclyde, and later abbot of Rahan.[4]
- Cynegils - Anglo-Saxon king of the West Saxons.[5]
- Raedwald of East Anglia - King of East Anglia from about AD 599 to about AD 625.[6]
- Sigeberht of East Anglia - King of East Anglia from AD 631 to 634.[7]
- Riderch Hael - King of Strathclyde who established the first See of Strathclyde at Glasgow.[8]
- Æthelberht of Kent - King of Kent.[9]
- Clovis I - early king of the Franks.[10]
- Igraine - mother of King Arthur
- Peada of Mercia - King of southern Mercia; helped found the monastery at Peterborough.[11]
- Leonard of Noblac - Frankish noble in the court of Clovis I.[12]
- Edwin of Northumbria - King of Deira and Bernicia.[citation needed]
- Rumwold - legendary "infant saint".[13]
- Saint Bavo - Frankish eremitic monk who lived during the Middle Ages.[14]
Norse paganism
- Leif Ericson - Icelandic Viking explorer.[15]
- Guthrum of East Anglia - King of the Danish Vikings in the Danelaw.[16]
- Rollo of Normandy - founder of Viking province of Normandy.[17]
- Saint Olaf - King of Norway.[18]
- Rorik of Dorestad - Danish Viking leader.[19]
Graeco-Roman Paganism
- Saint Apollonius - 2nd-century Roman Senator, Christian apologist and martyr.[20]
- Coelia Concordia - last Roman Vestal Virgin.[21]
- Commodianus - Latin poet; first practiced Judaism, and later converted to Christianity.[22]
- Constantine I (the Great) - Roman Emperor who legalized Christianity in the Edict of Milan in 313.[23]
- Pertinax of Byzantium - Bishop of Byzantium from 169 until his death in 187.[24]
- Athenagoras of Athens - philosopher and early Christian apologist.[25]
- Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite - judge of the Areopagus and early Bishop of Athens.[26]
- Saint Eustace - early Christian who was martyred, with his family, in a brazen bull.[27]
- Evodius - early Bishop of Antioch who (according to tradition) first called the disciples of Christ "Christians".[28]
- Gaius Marius Victorinus - Roman philosopher.[29]
- Honoratus - former Archbishop of Arles.[30]
- Pancras of Rome - early Roman Christian martyr.[31]
- Saint Pantaleon (Panteleimon) - early Christian physician and martyr.[32]
- Saint Cyriacus - early Christian saint.[33]
- Saint Julius the Veteran - early Christian martyr.[34]
- Sabinian of Troyes - Christian martyr.[35]
- Tertullian - author and apologist; coined the Latin term for 'Trinity.'
- Lactantius - early Christian author.[36]
- Theophilus of Antioch - early Patriarch of Antioch.[37]
- Justin Martyr - early Christian apologist.[38]
- Polycarp - early Christian bishop.[39]
Egyptian paganism
- Horapollo - leader of the few remaining pagan schools of Menouthis during Emperor Zeno's reign (474-491) who converted to Christianity after being tortured.[40]
Mideastern and Arabian paganism
- Waraqah ibn Nawfal - Parental cousin of Khadija, Muhammad's first wife.[41]
- Rabbula - early Bishop of Edessa.[42]
African traditional religions
- Charles Atangana - paramount chief of the Ewondo and Bane ethnic groups in Cameroon; first Ewondo to be baptised.[43]
- Francis Arinze - Nigerian Roman Catholic cardinal.[44]
- Félix Houphouët-Boigny - first President of Côte d'Ivoire.
- Frederick William Koko Mingi VIII of Nembe - 19th-century king of Nembe who later returned to animism[45]
- Samuel Ajayi Crowther - first African Anglican bishop in Nigeria.[46]
- Jomo Kenyatta - first Prime Minister and President of Kenya.[47]
- Bernard Mizeki - African Christian missionary and martyr.[48]
- Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba - Queen of Ndongo and Matamba in the 16th century.[49]
- Ranavalona II - Queen of Madagascar.[50]
- Joseph Shabalala - lead singer, founder and musical director of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.[51]
North American or Inuit
- Gelelemend - prominent Lenape convert to the Moravian Church.
- Samson Occom - Mohegan minister.[52]
- Pocahontas - Native American celebrity in 17th century London.[53]
- Helen Kalvak - Inuit artist from Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada.[54]
- Kateri Tekakwitha - Native American who became Roman Catholic Saint
New Zealand and Pacific Islands traditional religions
- Hone Heke - Māori chief and war leader in New Zealand.[55]
- Queen Kaʻahumanu - Hawaiian monarch, wife of Kamehameha I.[56]
- Tāmati Wāka Nene - Māori chief who fought as an ally of the British in the Flagstaff War.[57]
- Tarore - Maori daughter of chief Ngakuku of Te Waharoa, converted to Christianity. Martyed by Uita in the Kiamai Ranges, 19 Oct 1836 at the age of 12
- Ngakuku - Chief of Te Waharoa, converted to Christianity due to his daughter's influence.
- Uita - Killer of Tarore, converted to Christianity after hearing a reading from Tarore's gospel of Luke that he had taken from her.
- Te Rauparaha - Chief in Otaki, converted to Christianity after hearing a reading of Tarore's gospel of Luke, carried by Uita
European paganism (generic)
- Saint Barbara - Orthodox Christian martyr.[58]
Eastern European/ Slavic paganism
- Borivoj I of Bohemia - Duke of Bohemia (852/853 - 888/889).[59]
- Boris I of Bulgaria - Bulgarian ruler and monk.[60]
- Saint Ludmila - Catholic and Orthodox Christian saint and martyr.[61]
- Jogaila - former King of Poland and Duke of Lithuania.[62]
- Mieszko I of Poland - first Prince of Poland (962-992)
- Sittas - Byzantine magister militum.[63]
- Vladimir I of Kiev - Grand Prince of Kiev.,[64] the Baptiser of Russian Lands, Equal to Apostles
Finnic paganism
- Caupo of Turaida, leader of Livonians
References
- ^ The Northern Saints
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Alban
- ^ Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book III, chapter 7.
- ^ Britannia EBK Biographies: St. Constantine, King of Strathclyde
- ^ Berkshire History: Biographies: St. Abban of Abingdon
- ^ Raedwald - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
- ^ D.H. Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford 1978). ISBN 0-19-282038-9.
- ^ [1]
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Ethelbert (King of Kent)
- ^ [2]
- ^ Allen, Grant. "Anglo-Saxon Britain".
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Leonard of Noblac
- ^ [3]
- ^ St. Bavo - Catholic Online
- ^ BBC - History - Leif Erikson (11th century)
- ^ Green, John Richard. "A short history of the English people".
- ^ Rollo of Normandy
- ^ Olav Haraldsson
- ^ Viking in the Netherlands
- ^ Saint Patrick's Church: Saints of April 18
- ^ Forum Romanum: the Temple of Vesta and the Vestal Virgins
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Commodianus
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Constantine the Great
- ^ Ecumenical Patriarchate
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Athenagoras
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Eustachius
- ^ [4], [5]
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Caius Marius Victorinus
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Saint Honoratus
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Pancras
- ^ Body Theology - St. Panteleimon
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Cyriacus
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Julius the Veteran
- ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Sabinian of Troyes
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius
- ^ Apologia ad Autolycum i. 14, ii. 24.
- ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Justin Martyr
- ^ [6], [7]
- ^ Studiolum
- ^ Reading Islam.com: What Really Happened Up There?
- ^ [8]
- ^ Bonaberi.com: A la découverte de Charles Atangana
- ^ God's Invisible Hand: The Life and Work of Francis Cardinal Arinze, an Interview with Gerard O'Connell, pp. 12–21 (Ignatius Press, 2006) ISBN 978-1-58617-135-3
- ^ Livingston Borobuebi Dambo, Nembe: the Divided Kingdom (Paragraphics, 2006), p. 589
- ^ Crowther, Samuel Ajayi, Nigeria, Anglican
- ^ Jomo Kenyatta
- ^ Bernard Mizeki, Catechist and Martyr in Africa
- ^ [9], [10]
- ^ February 21: Ranavalona II; Christian History Institute
- ^ Rock Paper Scissors - Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Raise Your Spirit Higher (Heads Up) - Concert Preview
- ^ Samson Occom, Christian Convert
- ^ Pocahontas
- ^ [11]
- ^ Biographies
- ^ The Woman Who Changed A Kingdom - Hawaiian Queen Ka'ahumanu
- ^ Dictionary Of New Zealand Biography
- ^ Holweck, F. G. "A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints". St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.
- ^ Borivoj I (Borivorius I) Duke of Bohemia\ Saint Ludmila
- ^ Untitled Document
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Ludmilla
- ^ Jogaila (1350-1434)
- ^ Martindale, John Robert; Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin; Morris, J., eds. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: A.D. 527–641. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-20160-5.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) pp. 1160–1163. - ^ Patron Saints Index: Saint Vladimir I of Kiev