List of converts to Christianity from paganism explained

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.

Irish paganism

• Óengus mac Nad Froích – 5th century King of Munster

British/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.
• 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.
• 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 [We don't know if she did or not. People say she did at the end of her life but it could propaganda]– 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 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.
• Geronimo – leader of the Bedonkohe Apache.^[52]
• Samson Occom – Mohegan minister.^[53]
• Pocahontas – Native American celebrity in 17th century London.^[54]
• Helen Kalvak – Inuit artist from Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada.^[55]
• Kateri Tekakwitha – Native American who became a Roman Catholic saint.
• Red Cloud – Oglala military leader during the Bozeman War.^[56]
• Chief Seattle – Suquamish and Duwamish leader and namesake of Seattle, Washington.^[57]

New Zealand and Pacific Islands traditional religions

• Hōne Heke – Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) of Aotearoa New Zealand.^[58]
• Tāmati Wāka Nene – Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) of Aotearoa New Zealand who fought as an ally of the British in the Flagstaff War.^[59]
• Tārore – Māori daughter of chief Wiremu Ngākuku. Murdered by Paora Te Uita in the Kiamai Ranges, 18 October 1836 at the age of 12.^[60]
• Wiremu Ngākuku – Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāti Hauā iwi (tribe) of Aotearoa New Zealand refused to take utu (revenge) for his daughter Tārore's murder.
• Paora Te Uita – Ngāti Whakaue warrior and murderer of Tārore, converted to Christianity after hearing a reading from Tārore's Gospel of Luke that he had stolen from her.
• Tāmihana Te Rauparaha – son of chief Te Rauparaha, influential convert to Christianity and early, but temporary, champion of the Māori King Movement.^[61]
• Wiremu Tāmihana – Māori leader of the Ngāti Hauā iwi (tribe) of Aotearoa New Zealand. Known as the kingmaker for his role in the Māori King Movement.
• Āpihai Te Kawau – Māori paramount chief of the Ngāti Whātua iwi (tribe) responsible for gifting the land to build the city of Auckland.^[62]
• Piripi Taumata-a-Kura – notable Māori evangelist of Ngati Porou iwi (tribe) descent.
• Queen Kaʻahumanu – Hawaiian monarch, wife of Kamehameha I.^[63]
• Queen ʻAimata Pōmare – Tahitian monarch.
• Riro Kāinga – Rapa Nui chief and last King of Easter Island.^[64]
• María Angata – Rapa Nui catechist who led an unsuccessful rebellion against the Williamson-Balfour Company.^[65]

European paganism (generic)

• Saint Barbara – Orthodox Christian martyr.^[66]

Eastern European/ Slavic paganism

• Borivoj I of Bohemia – Duke of Bohemia (852/853 – 888/889).^[67]
• Boris I of Bulgaria – Bulgarian ruler and monk.^[68]
• Anna, daughter of Presian I – sister of Boris I.
• Saint Ludmila – Catholic and Orthodox Christian saint and martyr.^[69]
• Mieszko I of Poland – first Prince of Poland (962-992)
• Sittas – Byzantine magister militum.^[70]
• Vladimir I of Kiev – Grand Prince of Kiev,^[71] the Baptiser of Russian Lands, Equal to Apostles

Baltic paganism

• Mindaugas – the first and only Christian king of Lithuania, accepted Christianity in 1251.^[72]
• Morta – Queen of Lithuania and wife of Mindaugas. She remained a Christian even after the apostasy of her husband.^[73]
• Jogaila – former King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.^[74]
• Vytautas The Great – the Grand Duke of Lithuania and cousin of Jogaila.^[75]

Finnic paganism

• Caupo of Turaida, leader of Livonians

Notes and References

1. http://www.olotrosarypeterlee.co.uk/Northernsaints.html The Northern Saints
2. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainta34.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Alban
3. Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book III, chapter 7.
4. http://www.britannia.com/bios/ebk/constsc.html Britannia EBK Biographies: St. Constantine, King of Strathclyde
5. Web site: Berkshire History: Biographies: St. Abban of Abingdon . 2012-03-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170721052726/http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/cynegils.html . 2017-07-21 .
6. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9062445/Raedwald Raedwald – Britannica Online Encyclopedia
7. D.H. Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford 1978). .
8. Web site: The Heroic Age: Rhydderch Hael . 2009-08-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090831210511/http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/2/ha2rh.htm . 2009-08-31 .
9. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05553b.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Ethelbert (King of Kent)
10. Web site: Clovis I - Britannica Concise . 2012-03-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071017050359/http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9024458/Clovis-I . 2007-10-17 .
11. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16790/16790-8.txt Allen, Grant. "Anglo-Saxon Britain".
12. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintl09.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Leonard of Noblac
13. Web site: Patron Saints Index: Saint Rumwold . www.catholic-forum.com . 13 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060518102135/http://www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/saintr28.htm . 18 May 2006 .
14. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=555 St. Bavo – Catholic Online
15. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/erikson_leif.shtml BBC – History – Leif Erikson (11th century)
16. https://archive.org/details/ashorthistoryen00greegoog/page/n80 Green, John Richard. "A short history of the English people".
17. http://sbaldw.home.mindspring.com/hproject/prov/rollo000.htm Rollo of Normandy
18. http://www.viking.no/e/people/st.olav/index.html Olav Haraldsson
19. http://www.missgien.net/vikings/rorik.html Viking in the Netherlands
20. http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0418.shtml Saint Patrick's Church: Saints of April 18
21. http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/634992 Forum Romanum: the Temple of Vesta and the Vestal Virgins
22. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04165a.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Commodianus
23. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04295c.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Constantine the Great
24. Web site: Ecumenical Patriarchate . 2012-03-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071008165258/http://www.ec-patr.eu/list/index.php?lang=en . 2007-10-08 .
25. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02042b.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Athenagoras
26. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05013a.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite
27. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainte17.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Eustachius
28. http://www.lumenverum.org/apologetics/EarlyChurchHistory/page18.html
29. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15414b.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Caius Marius Victorinus
30. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07451a.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Saint Honoratus
31. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintp02.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Pancras
32. http://www.itmonline.org/bodytheology/stpant.htm Body Theology – St. Panteleimon
33. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintc8p.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Cyriacus
34. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintjer.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Julius the Veteran
35. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saints28.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Sabinian of Troyes
36. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08736a.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius
37. Apologia ad Autolycum i. 14, ii. 24.
38. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08580c.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: St. Justin Martyr
39. http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc09/htm/iv.iii.xv.htm
40. http://www.studiolum.com/en/cd08-horapollo.htm Studiolum
41. Reading Islam.com: What Really Happened Up There?
42. Web site: Rabbula -- Britannica Concise Encyclopedia - the online encyclopedia you can trust! . www.britannica.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20071022090421/http://britannica.com/ebc/article-9062350 . 2007-10-22.
43. http://www.bonaberi.com/article.php?aid=7 Bonaberi.com: A la découverte de Charles Atangana
44. God's Invisible Hand: The Life and Work of Francis Cardinal Arinze, an Interview with Gerard O'Connell, pp. 12–21 (Ignatius Press, 2006)
45. Livingston Borobuebi Dambo, Nembe: the Divided Kingdom (Paragraphics, 2006), p. 589
46. http://www.dacb.org/stories/nigeria/legacy_crowther.html Crowther, Samuel Ajayi, Nigeria, Anglican
47. http://www.africawithin.com/kenyatta/kenyatta_bio.htm Jomo Kenyatta
48. http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/188.html Bernard Mizeki, Catechist and Martyr in Africa
49. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pwmn_2/hd_pwmn_2.htm
50. http://chi.gospelcom.net/DAILYF/2002/02/daily-02-21-2002.shtml February 21: Ranavalona II; Christian History Institute
51. http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.articles_detail/project_id/122/article_id/2285.cfm Rock Paper Scissors – Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Raise Your Spirit Higher (Heads Up) – Concert Preview
52. Book: Geronimo . S. M. . Barrett . Frederick W. . Turner . Geronimo: his own story . New York . Penguin . 1996 . 978-0-452-01155-7 . November 12, 2015 . January 5, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200105120945/https://books.google.com/books?id=jUPsbhM5wCYC&pg=PT11 . live .
53. http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/samsonoccom.htm Samson Occom, Christian Convert
54. http://www.apva.org/history/pocahont.html Pocahontas
55. Web site: Bios . carleton.ca . https://web.archive.org/web/20020329054541/http://www.carleton.ca/gallery/creature/Bios.html . 2002-03-29.
56. Book: Enochs, Ross . The Jesuit Mission to the Lakota Sioux: Pastoral Theology and Ministry, 1886–1945. 1996. 26. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-1-55612-813-4.
57. Web site: Chief Seattle and Chief Joseph: From Indians to Icons . David M. . Buerge . .
58. http://www.balagan.org.uk/war/nz/1845/biographies.htm Biographies
59. http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1N2 Dictionary Of New Zealand Biography
60. Book: Newman, Keith . Bible & Treaty, Missionaries among the Māori – a new perspective . 2010 . 2010 . Penguin . 978-0-14-320408-4 . 101–103.
61. Book: Newman, Keith . Bible & Treaty, Missionaries among the Māori – a new perspective . 2010 . 2010 . Penguin . 978-0-14-320408-4 . 260.
62. Web site: Cultural Values Assessment in Support of the Notices of Requirement for the Proposed City Rail Link Project . Auckland Transport. 11 August 2019.
63. http://www.coffeetimes.com/july98.htm The Woman Who Changed A Kingdom – Hawaiian Queen Ka'ahumanu
64. Book: Pakarati, Cristián Moreno. Los últimos 'Ariki Mau y la evolución del poder político en Rapa Nui. 2010.
65. Book: Pakarati, Cristián Moreno. Rebelión, Sumisión y Mediación en Rapa Nui (1896–1915). 2015.
66. Holweck, F. G. "A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints". St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.
67. http://comrade280.tripod.com/fam1659.html Borivoj I (Borivorius I) Duke of Bohemia\ Saint Ludmila
68. http://www.thenagain.info/WebChron/EastEurope/BulgarEmp1.html Untitled Document
69. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09416a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Ludmilla
70. Book: Martindale. John Robert. Jones. Arnold Hugh Martin. Morris. J.. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: A.D. 527–641. 1992. Cambridge, United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-20160-5. pp. 1160–1163.
71. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintv09.htm Patron Saints Index: Saint Vladimir I of Kiev
72. Encyclopedia: Sužiedėlis, Simas . . Mindaugas. 1970–1978 . Juozas Kapočius . III . Boston, Massachusetts . 538–543. 74-114275 .
73. https://ldkistorija.lt/#morta-karaliaus-mindaugo-zmona-is-svedijos-_fact_189 Morta
74. http://www.lituanus.org/1987/87_4_04.htm Jogaila (1350-1434)
75. Lietuvos valdovai (2004), p. 79. Lietuvos valdovai (2004), p. 79.