Saint Eleuterus

Pope Eleutherius (Greek: Ελευθέριος; died 24 May 189), also known as Eleutherus (Greek: Ελεύθερος), was the bishop of Rome from c. 174 until his death in 189. His pontificate is alternatively dated to 171–185 or 177–193. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He is linked to a number of legends, one of them credited him with receiving a letter from "Lucius, King of Britain". As of 2026, he is the only Pope named Eleutherius. According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a Greek born in Nicopolis in Epirus, Greece. His contemporary Hegesippus wrote that he was a deacon of the Roman Church under Pope Anicetus (c. 154–164), and remained so under Pope Soter, whom he succeeded around 174. The 6th-century recension of Liber Pontificalis ('Book of the Popes') known as the "Felician Catalog" includes additional commentary to the work's earlier entry on Eleutherius. One addition ascribes to Eleutherius the reissuance of a decree: "And he again affirmed that no food should be repudiated by Christians strong in their faith, as God created it, [provided] however that it is sensible and edible." Such a decree might have been issued against early continuations of Jewish dietary law and against similar laws practiced by the Gnostics and Montanists. It is also possible, however, that the editor of the passage attributed to Eleutherius a decree similar to another issued around the year 500 in order to give it greater authority. Another addition credited Eleutherius with receiving a letter from "Lucius, King of Britain" or "King of the Britons", declaring an intention to convert to Christianity. Authoratiative accounts from the 1st and 2nd century, of Terullian, St. Clement, and St. Iraneaus, referred to Britain as being of the first as having been impacted by the Christian faith.