The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Lucius I of Rome
d. c. 254 · Bishop of Rome · Rome
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Lucius I of Rome was
Bishop of Rome for about eight months (253–254), banished almost at his accession under Gallus and soon allowed to return — Cyprian congratulated him on a confessorship that was “a double dignity,” exile survived and see regained. He upheld Cornelius’s moderate policy on the lapsed against the Novatianists. Dead within the year, he was buried in the papal crypt, where his name-stone was recovered: “Lucius, martyr.”
Also listed in the bishops of Rome.
Common questions
When did Lucius I die?
Lucius I of Rome is dated d. c. 254 in the archive, which places Lucius I 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 Lucius I?
Lucius I of Rome is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Cyprian of Carthage, Eusebius of Caesarea and The chronographer of 354. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Lucius I from?
The archive associates Lucius I of Rome with Rome.
Who were Lucius I’s contemporaries?
The archive links Lucius I of Rome to 2 other figures, including Cornelius of Rome and Stephen I of Rome. 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.
Cyprian, Epistle 61 (to Lucius)
c. AD 253The Lord… restored you to your church and people with the great joy of all… so that now the leaders return with glory to those from whom in glory they had gone forth.Cyprian of Carthage · 61 · source text
Ecclesiastical History VII.2 (his brief tenure)
c. AD 325Lucius, who had held the office not quite eight entire months, on his death transmitted his office to Stephen.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History VII.2 · source text
Liberian Catalogue (Chronography of 354)
c. AD 354Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 190 · The Quartodeciman controversy, AD 190
- AD 202 · Perpetua and Felicity martyred, AD 202
- AD 235 · Maximinus Thrax targets the clergy, AD 235
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Lucius I.
- 1Rome