The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Stephen I of Rome
d. c. 257 · Bishop of Rome · Rome
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Stephen I of Rome was
Bishop of Rome (254–257) whose clash with Cyprian of Carthage over the rebaptism of heretics is the first great collision between Rome and an African primate. When Cyprian and the African and Eastern churches held that baptism by heretics was no baptism, Stephen insisted on the Roman custom — “let nothing be innovated beyond what has been handed down” — and reportedly threatened to break communion with them, invoking his church’s descent from Peter. Firmilian of Cappadocia answered him with fury. The dispute was suspended, not settled, by Stephen’s death; it left on record both the Roman claim and its vigorous contestation.
Also listed in the bishops of Rome.
Common questions
When did Stephen I die?
Stephen I of Rome is dated d. c. 257 in the archive, which places Stephen 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 Stephen I?
Stephen I of Rome is named in 4 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Stephen I, via Cyprian, Firmilian of Caesarea, Eusebius of Caesarea and The chronographer of 354. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Stephen I from?
The archive associates Stephen I of Rome with Rome.
Who were Stephen I’s contemporaries?
The archive links Stephen I of Rome to 4 other figures, including Lucius I of Rome, Cyprian of Carthage, Firmilian of Caesarea and Xystus II (Sixtus II) of Rome. 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.
Cyprian, Epistle 74 (quoting Stephen)
c. AD 256If any one, therefore, come to you from any heresy whatever, let nothing be innovated which has not been handed down, to wit, that hands be imposed on him for repentance.Stephen I, via Cyprian · 74 · source text
Epistle 75 (Firmilian to Cyprian — the adversarial portrait)
c. AD 256I am justly indignant at this so open and manifest folly of Stephen.Firmilian of Caesarea · Epistle 75 · source text
Ecclesiastical History VII.2–5 (Dionysius's letters on the baptismal controversy)
c. AD 325Liberian Catalogue (Chronography of 354)
c. AD 354Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Stephen I in the sources
This figure is placed with Stephen I by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Stephen I naming them in return.
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
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Stephen I.
- 1Rome