The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313

Eleutherus of Rome

d. c. 189 · Bishop of Rome · Rome

The Ante-Nicene Church

Eleutherus of Rome — historical depiction 1
Eleutherus of RomeArtaud de Montor (1772–1849) · Public domain · Commons
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Eleutherus of Rome — historical depiction 1

Eleutherus of RomeArtaud de Montor (1772–1849) · Public domain · Commons

Who Eleutherus of Rome was

Thirteenth bishop of Rome, who had been a deacon under Anicetus. To him the confessors of Lyon sent their letter on the Montanist question in 177, carried by the presbyter Irenaeus — the future bishop bearing to Rome the counsel of a church still warm from the arena. Eleutherus governed some fifteen years as Gnosticism and the New Prophecy pressed the church from two sides.

Also listed in the bishops of Rome.

Common questions

When did Eleutherus die?

Eleutherus of Rome is dated d. c. 189 in the archive, which places Eleutherus in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention Eleutherus?

Eleutherus of Rome is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Irenaeus of Lyon, Eusebius of Caesarea and The chronographer of 354. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Eleutherus from?

The archive associates Eleutherus of Rome with Rome.

Who were Eleutherus’ contemporaries?

The archive links Eleutherus of Rome to 3 other figures, including Soter of Rome, Victor I of Rome and Irenaeus of Lyon. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

Primary-source mentions (3)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Against Heresies III.3.3 (the register closes with him, in the present tense)

c. AD 180
Eleutherius does now, in the twelfth place from the apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate.
Irenaeus of Lyon · Against Heresies III.3.3 · source text

Ecclesiastical History V.4

c. AD 325
The same witnesses also recommended Irenaeus… requesting the bishop of Rome, whose name was Eleutherus, to give heed to him, and bearing testimony to his worth.
Eusebius of Caesarea · V.4 · source text

Liberian Catalogue (Chronography of 354)

c. AD 354
The chronographer of 354 · Liberian Catalogue · source text

Connected in the archive

People

Events in this lifetime

Place

Places served

The one place the sources put Eleutherus.

  1. 1Rome

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