Apology (Plea for the Christians)

E673241

Christian apologetic work theological work treatise

Apology (Plea for the Christians) is a 2nd-century Christian apologetic treatise by Athenagoras of Athens defending Christians against charges such as atheism, cannibalism, and immorality before the Roman authorities.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Plea for the Christians	2
Apology (Plea for the Christians) canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T7561833 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Apology (Plea for the Christians)
Context triple: [Athenagoras of Athens, notableWork, Apology (Plea for the Christians)]

A. On Repentance
"On Repentance" is a spiritual treatise by St. Mark the Ascetic that offers practical guidance on Christian repentance, inner transformation, and the struggle against sin.
B. Rite of Penance
Rite of Penance is the official liturgical book of the Catholic Church that sets out the prayers, rites, and norms for the sacrament of reconciliation.
C. Christ and the Sinner
"Christ and the Sinner" is an expressionist artwork by German painter and printmaker Karl Schmidt-Rottluff that reflects his bold use of color and stark forms to convey intense spiritual and emotional themes.
D. The Repentance
The Repentance is an alternative English title used for a work whose primary name is "Repentance."
E. The Revelation of Mercy
The Revelation of Mercy is a section of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical *Dives in Misericordia* that reflects on how God’s merciful love is disclosed in Scripture and in the person of Jesus Christ.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Apology (Plea for the Christians)
Target entity description: Apology (Plea for the Christians) is a 2nd-century Christian apologetic treatise by Athenagoras of Athens defending Christians against charges such as atheism, cannibalism, and immorality before the Roman authorities.

A. On Repentance
"On Repentance" is a spiritual treatise by St. Mark the Ascetic that offers practical guidance on Christian repentance, inner transformation, and the struggle against sin.
B. Rite of Penance
Rite of Penance is the official liturgical book of the Catholic Church that sets out the prayers, rites, and norms for the sacrament of reconciliation.
C. Christ and the Sinner
"Christ and the Sinner" is an expressionist artwork by German painter and printmaker Karl Schmidt-Rottluff that reflects his bold use of color and stark forms to convey intense spiritual and emotional themes.
D. The Repentance
The Repentance is an alternative English title used for a work whose primary name is "Repentance."
E. The Revelation of Mercy
The Revelation of Mercy is a section of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical *Dives in Misericordia* that reflects on how God’s merciful love is disclosed in Scripture and in the person of Jesus Christ.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Christian apologetic work ⓘ theological work ⓘ treatise ⓘ
addressedTo	Emperor Commodus ⓘ linked to: Commodus Emperor Marcus Aurelius ⓘ linked to: Marcus Aurelius Roman authorities ⓘ
alternativeTitle	Plea for the Christians ⓘ linked to: Apology (Plea for the Christians)
audience	educated pagan readers ⓘ
author	Athenagoras of Athens ⓘ
centuryOfComposition	2nd century ⓘ
containsDiscussionOf	resurrection of the dead ⓘ
dateApproximate	c. 176–180 ⓘ
defendsAgainstCharge	atheism ⓘ cannibalism ⓘ immorality ⓘ
genre	Christian apologetics ⓘ apologetics ⓘ
historicalContext	Roman Empire ⓘ
includedIn	collections of Ante-Nicene Fathers ⓘ
influenced	later Christian apologists ⓘ
keyArgument	Christian moral life benefits the state ⓘ Christians should be judged for actual crimes, not for the name "Christian" ⓘ Christians worship one God and are not atheists ⓘ charges of cannibalism are based on misunderstanding of the Eucharist ⓘ
language	Ancient Greek ⓘ
literaryForm	forensic oration ⓘ formal petition ⓘ
mainTheme	defense of Christian monotheism ⓘ moral character of Christians ⓘ refutation of pagan misconceptions about Christians ⓘ
originalLanguage	Ancient Greek ⓘ
philosophicalInfluence	Platonism ⓘ Stoicism ⓘ
placeOfComposition	Athens ⓘ
preservation	transmitted in Greek patristic manuscripts ⓘ
purpose	defend Christians against legal and social accusations ⓘ
relatedWorkByAuthor	On the Resurrection of the Dead ⓘ
religiousTradition	Christianity ⓘ
rhetoricalStrategy	appeal to reason and justice ⓘ use of philosophical concepts to explain Christian beliefs ⓘ
subjectMatter	Christian doctrine ⓘ Christian ethics ⓘ Roman law and justice ⓘ
theologicalPosition	affirmation of the Logos ⓘ monotheism ⓘ
title	Apology ⓘ
tradition	Greek Christian apologetic tradition ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Athenagoras of Athens → notableWork → Apology (Plea for the Christians) ⓘ

Apology (Plea for the Christians) → alternativeTitle → Plea for the Christians ⓘ

linked to: Apology (Plea for the Christians)

On the Resurrection of the Dead → relatedWork → Plea for the Christians ⓘ