Justin Martyrc. 160 · Irenaeus of Lyons (quoted by Eusebius)c. 180 · Tertullianc. 197Continued
Second-century apologists claimed present miracles as evidence: exorcism in Jesus' name (Justin), healings and even raisings from the dead (Irenaeus), and a public test of demons before Roman judges (Tertullian). 123
John Chrysostomc. 392Ended
By the late fourth century, some said the great signs had ceased, as Chrysostom did of tongues. Augustine first agreed, then recorded many miracles at the martyrs' shrines (City of God 22.8). 5
The answers given:
ApostolicBefore NicaeaNicaea and afterMiddle AgesReformation to today
Scroll through the centuries, or tap a dot. JK move between witnesses.
Before Nicaea
150–325
160c. AD
Continued
Justin Martyr c. 100–c. 165 ADDialogue with Trypho 76.6
And now we who believe in Jesus our Lord, crucified under Pontius Pilate, exorcise all demons and evil spirits, and have them subject to us.
Exorcism in the name of Jesus was the most common claim of present miracles.
Full English of this work is being translated
Καὶ νῦν ἡμεῖς, οἱ πιστεύοντες ἐπὶ τὸν σταυρωθέντα ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου Ἰησοῦν κύριον ἡμῶν, τὰ δαιμόνια πάντα καὶ πνεύματα πονηρὰ ἐξορκίζοντες ὑποτασσόμενα ἡμῖν ἔχομεν.Dialogue avec Tryphon Justin Martyr Georges Archambault A. Picard Paris 1909 1-2 Internet Archive Internet Archive (First1KGreek TEI, urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0645.tlg003) · English: translated for this page from the Greek
180c. AD
Continued
Irenaeus of Lyons (quoted by Eusebius) c. 130–c. 202 ADAgainst Heresies 2.32.4 and 5.6.1, in Eusebius, Church History 5.7.4–6
Some drive out demons truly and certainly ... others heal the sick by laying on of hands and make them well. And already, as we said, even the dead have been raised and remained with us many years.
Irenaeus claims raisings from the dead in his own time.
Full English of this work is being translated
οἶ μὲν γὰρ δαίμονας ἐλαύνουσι βεβαίως καὶ ἀληθῶς ... ἄλλοι δὲ τοὺς κάμνοντας δια τῆς τῶν χειρῶν ἐπιθέσεως ἰῶνται καὶ ὑγιεῖς ἀποκαθιστᾶσιν. ἤδη δὲ, καθὼς ἔφαμεν, καὶ νεκροὶ ἠγέρθησαν, καὶ παρέμειναν σὺν ἡμῖν ἔτεσιν ἱκανοῖς.Eusebii Caesariensis Opera Wilhelm Dindorf Eusebius Teubner Leipzig 1871 4 Internet Archive (First1KGreek TEI, urn:cts:greekLit:tlg2018.tlg002) · English: translated for this page from the Greek
197c. AD
Continued
Tertullian c. 155–c. 220 ADApology 23.4–6
Let someone be brought before your tribunals who is plainly possessed by a demon. Ordered by any Christian to speak, that spirit will confess itself a demon as truly as elsewhere it falsely calls itself a god. ... Unless they confess themselves demons, not daring to lie to a Christian, then shed that impudent Christian's blood on the spot!
Tertullian offers a public test before Roman judges.
Full English of this work is being translated · Source text
Edatur hic aliqui ibidem sub tribunalibus vestris, quem daemone agi constet; iussus a quolibet Christiano loqui spiritus ille tam se daemonem confitebitur de vero quam alibi deum de falso. ... nisi se daemones confessi fuerint, Christiano mentiri non auThe Latin Library text · English: translated for this page from the Latin
Nicaea to Chalcedon
325–451
380c. AD
Continued
Gregory of Nyssa c. 335–c. 395 ADLife of Gregory the Wonderworker 17 (PG 46.932–933)
For immediately, not long after, the staff, rooted into the banks, became a tree. ... Such was the power of Gregory the Great, or rather of God working the wonders in him.
Gregory the Wonderworker (c. 213 to c. 270), bishop of Neocaesarea a century after the apostles, prays at the flooding river Lycus and plants his staff on the bank; it grows into a tree which, Gregory of Nyssa says, still turns the river back in flood. The Life presents his wonders, the dried lake, the moved rock and this river among them, as God's power working in a post-apostolic bishop.
Full English of this work is being translated
Εὐθὺς γὰρ οὐ μετὰ πολὺν χρόνον ἡ μὲν βακτηρία, ταῖς ὄχθαις ἐῤῥιζωθεῖσα, δένδρον ἐγένετο. ... Τοιαύτη τοῦ μεγάλου Γρηγορίου ἡ δύναμις, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν ἐκείνῳ τὰ θαύματα.Migne PG 46; Khazarzar Digital Patrology text, checked against the PG scan · English: translated for this page from the Greek
392c. AD
Ended
John Chrysostom c. 349–407 ADHomilies on 1 Corinthians 29.1, on 1 Corinthians 12:1
This whole passage is very obscure. The obscurity comes from our ignorance of the facts and from their absence, since they used to happen then but do not happen now. And why do they not happen now? ... Why did they happen then and no longer now? Let us put that off to another time. ... What then happened then? Whoever was baptized at once spoke in tongues.
Chrysostom elsewhere explains that miracles were needed at the beginning, to plant the faith, and are less needed now.
Full English of this work is being translated
Τοῦτο ἅπαν τὸ χωρίον σφόδρα ἐστὶν ἀσαφές· τὴν δὲ ἀσάφειαν ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων ἄγνοιά τε καὶ ἔλλειψις ποιεῖ τῶν τότε μὲν συμβαινόντων, νῦν δὲ οὐ γινομένων. Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν οὐ γίνεται νῦν; ... Τί δήποτε γὰρ τότε μὲν ἐγίνετο, νῦν δὲ οὐκέτι; Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν εἰς αὖθις ἀναβαλλώμεθα, τέως δὲ τὰ συμβαίνοντα τότε λέγωμεν. Τί οὖν τότε συνέβαινεν; Εἴ τις ἐβαπτίσατο, γλώσσαις εὐθέως ἐλάλειMigne PG 61; Khazarzar Digital Patrology text, checked against the PG scan · English: translated for this page from the Greek
Witnesses not in the library yet
These writers also matter for this question. Their texts will join the timeline above once they are translated.
427
Augustine of Hippo, City of God 22.8; Retractations 1.13.7
His change of mind on present miracles.
360
Athanasius, Life of Antony
Healings and exorcisms of the first monk.
How this page was made
Every early quote was read in its Greek or Latin and translated for this page by Claude (Opus 5.5) on 13 October 2026. Each line names the printed edition it was read from. A quote marked indirect does not state the answer outright; read its note. A writer's silence is never counted as an answer.