The Apologists · AD 130–180
Pius I of Rome
d. c. 155 · Bishop of Rome · Rome
The Apologists
Who Pius I of Rome was
Tenth bishop of Rome, and the one an early Roman source (the Muratorian Canon) links to the Shepherd of Hermas: “Hermas wrote the Shepherd very recently, in our times, in the city of Rome, while his brother Pius, the bishop, was sitting in the chair.” Under him Marcion made his decisive break with the Roman church (c. 144), and Justin Martyr taught in the city. About fifteen years of a church entering its intellectual maturity.
Also listed in the bishops of Rome.
Common questions
When did Pius I die?
Pius I of Rome is dated d. c. 155 in the archive, which places Pius I in the Apologists (AD 130–180). 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 Pius I?
Pius I of Rome is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Anonymous canon-list, Irenaeus of Lyon and The chronographer of 354. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Pius I from?
The archive associates Pius I of Rome with Rome.
Who were Pius I’s contemporaries?
The archive links Pius I of Rome to 4 other figures, including Hyginus of Rome, Anicetus of Rome, Hermas of Rome and Marcion of Sinope. 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.
The Muratorian Fragment (c. 170–200)
c. AD 180But Hermas wrote the Shepherd very recently, in our times, in the city of Rome, while his brother Pius, the bishop, was sitting in the chair of the church of the city of Rome.Anonymous canon-list · source text
Against Heresies III.3.3
c. AD 180Then Telesphorus, who was gloriously martyred; then Hyginus; after him, Pius; then after him, Anicetus.Irenaeus of Lyon · Against Heresies III.3.3 · source text
Liberian Catalogue (Chronography of 354)
c. AD 354Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Pius I.
- 1Rome