d. c. 136–138
Bishop of Rome in the second century, martyred under Hadrian or Antoninus Pius.
The Holy Hieromartyr Telesphorus, Pope of Rome
Telesphorus was Bishop of Rome in the first half of the second century, reckoned in early lists as the seventh (or eighth, when Peter is counted) in succession from the Apostles. Of Greek ancestry, he was born at Thurii in Calabria in southern Italy — the site of present-day Terranova da Sibari — and his Greek name carries the sense of 'one who brings fruit to perfection.'
According to Eusebius of Caesarea, his episcopate began in the twelfth year of the reign of Emperor Hadrian (128–129) and ended in the first year of Antoninus Pius, a span conventionally given as roughly 126 to 137. The Liber Pontificalis records that he had lived as an anchorite before assuming the office of bishop.
He is remembered chiefly as a martyr: Irenaeus of Lyons, writing within living memory of the period, states that Telesphorus 'suffered a glorious martyrdom,' making him the first Bishop of Rome after Peter whom Irenaeus explicitly names as a martyr. He is commemorated on January 5 in the Roman and Orthodox calendars, and additionally on February 22 in the Greek tradition.
Telesphorus was a Greek from Thurii in Calabria — modern Terranova da Sibari — in southern Italy. His name in Greek was understood to mean 'to bring fruit to perfection.'
The Liber Pontificalis records that before becoming bishop he had lived as an anchorite, that is, a hermit, though details of this earlier life are not preserved in the primary sources.
Early witnesses count Telesphorus as the seventh Bishop of Rome in succession from the Apostles (or the eighth when Peter himself is numbered), following Sixtus I and preceding Hyginus. Eusebius, in his Church History, dates the episcopate from the twelfth year of Hadrian (128–129) to the first year of Antoninus Pius (138–139); the whole span is commonly given as about 126 to 137.
His years as bishop fell during the growth of Gnosticism at Rome, whose chief exponent was the philosopher Valentinus, newly arrived from Egypt. On the question of the date of Easter, Telesphorus kept the feast on Sunday while maintaining fellowship with churches whose observance differed — an early instance of the Roman practice later at issue in the Quartodeciman controversy.
Later liturgical customs sometimes ascribed to his time — the Midnight Mass of Christmas, a seven-week Lent, and the singing of the Gloria in Excelsis — are regarded by historians as lacking firm historical foundation. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the decisions attributed to him in the Liber Pontificalis and other late authorities are not genuine.
Irenaeus of Lyons, in Against Heresies (III.3.3), records that Telesphorus 'suffered a glorious martyrdom.' This makes him the first Bishop of Rome after the Apostle Peter whom Irenaeus names outright as a martyr.
The primary sources do not specify who executed him, the precise date, or the manner of his death; tradition places his repose under Hadrian or Antoninus Pius. He was buried in the Vatican Necropolis.
Browse other saints who share his calling and place.