Claudius Apollinaris was a bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia during the second century CE, active around 170–180 CE under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was a Christian apologist, part of a group of writers who defended their faith to Roman authorities and educated pagans.

According to later historians, Apollinaris wrote an address to Emperor Marcus Aurelius arguing for the loyalty and value of Christians to the Roman Empire. He reportedly referenced a story about Christian soldiers whose prayers brought rain for the Roman army. He also wrote several treatises against Greek philosophers, Jewish critics, and the emerging Montanist movement within Christianity. None of these works survive today; they are known only from brief references by later writers like Eusebius of Caesarea.

Modern scholars see Apollinaris as a significant, though poorly documented, figure among early Christian apologists. His lost writings represent an attempt to engage with Roman authority and Greco-Roman intellectual culture, while also addressing internal Christian debates of his time.