The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Liberius of Rome
d. 366 · Bishop of Rome · Rome
The Nicene Age
Who Liberius of Rome was
Bishop of Rome (352–366) through the hardest years of Arian imperial pressure under Constantius II, who exiled him for refusing to condemn Athanasius. After two years of banishment he reportedly yielded, signing an ambiguous non-Nicene formula and condemning Athanasius, to regain his see — a lapse his enemies broadcast and his defenders explained as coerced, and the first serious blot the tradition had to reckon with on a Roman bishop. Restored to Rome, he ended his days in the Nicene camp. A pope whose fall under duress became a permanent theological talking-point.
Also listed in the bishops of Rome.
Common questions
When did Liberius die?
Liberius of Rome is dated d. 366 in the archive, which places Liberius in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Liberius?
Liberius of Rome is named in 4 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Athanasius of Alexandria, The chronographer of 354, Jerome of Stridon and Faustinus & Marcellinus. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Liberius from?
The archive associates Liberius of Rome with Rome.
Who were Liberius’ contemporaries?
The archive links Liberius of Rome to 6 other figures, including Julius I of Rome, Damasus I of Rome, Athanasius of Alexandria and Emperor Constantius II. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (4)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
History of the Arians 41 (Athanasius)
c. AD 350Liberius, having been exiled, gave way after two years, and through fear of threatened death subscribed. Yet even this shows their violence, and the hatred of Liberius against the heresy, and his support of Athanasius, so long as he was suffered to exercise free choice.Athanasius of Alexandria · 41 · source text
Liberian Catalogue (the register that ends in his reign and bears his name)
c. AD 354Chronicle of Jerome ('overcome by the tedium of exile, he subscribed')
c. AD 380Libellus precum (the Luciferian petitioners' memory of his exile and fall)
c. AD 384Connected in the archive
People
- Julius I of Rome
- Damasus I of Rome
- Athanasius of Alexandria
- Emperor Constantius II
- Fortunatianus of Aquileia
- Marcellina
Events in this lifetime
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Liberius.
- 1Rome