What do invented saints tell us about Christianity?

[Jehanne]

In the early days of Christianity, there were few conversions among the educated, say, members of the Roman Senate.  Even Josephus, in his tome on the Roman Jewish wars, while discussing Pontinus Pilate at length, never even mentions Jesus.

Granted, it's harder to know the beliefs of the illiterates, because they didn't write things down. 

On the other hand, since the educated people all knew that earth is a sphere, we don't know how far this was passed on to less-educated people. 

Do you have any historical source making this specific claim -- that the rank and file believed in a flat earth? I don't want to assume it's true without any evidence.

Again, it's in Wikipedia -- some of the pre-Nicene Church fathers believed in a flat Earth.