II99-311
The Age of Persecution
Two centuries underground: bishops of Rome elected to an office that could be a death sentence.
Popes No. 5-31
For most of these two centuries the bishop of Rome was, legally speaking, the leader of a criminal association. Persecution came in waves rather than as a constant fire, but several popes of this era died for the office, and all of them accepted it knowing they might. Between the storms, the Roman church grew wealthy in exactly the things Rome respected: organization, charity, and burial grounds, the catacombs that still carry the popes' names.
The era also produced the papacy's first great internal tests: quarrels over the date of Easter, over whether lapsed Christians could return, and over rebaptism, each one pushing Rome to define what its own authority meant.
The world at the time
- 250
politicalDecian persecution
The first empire-wide persecution requires sacrifice to the Roman gods; Pope Fabian is among the first to die.
- 303
politicalDiocletianic persecution
The last and fiercest general persecution burns churches and scriptures across the empire on the eve of its own failure.
Popes of this era
EvaristusNo. 5 · c. 99-c. 105- Alexander INo. 6 · c. 107-c. 110
- Sixtus INo. 7 · c. 115-c. 120
- TelesphorusNo. 8 · c. 126-c. 130
- HyginusNo. 9 · c. 138-c. 140
- Pius INo. 10 · c. 140-c. 154
- AnicetusNo. 11 · c. 150-c. 160
- SoterNo. 12 · c. 168-c. 174
- EleuterusNo. 13 · c. 175-c. 189
- Victor INo. 14 · c. 189-c. 199
- ZephyrinusNo. 15 · c. 199-c. 217
- Callixtus INo. 16 · c. 218-c. 222
- Urban INo. 17 · c. 222-c. 230
- PontianNo. 18 · 230-235
- AnterusNo. 19 · 235-236
- FabianNo. 20 · 236-250
- CorneliusNo. 21 · 251-253
- Lucius INo. 22 · 253-254
- Stephen INo. 23 · 254-257
- Sixtus IINo. 24 · 257-258
- DionysiusNo. 25 · 259-268
- Felix INo. 26 · 269-274
- EutychianNo. 27 · 275-283
- CaiusNo. 28 · 283-296
- MarcellinusNo. 29 · 296-304
- Marcellus INo. 30 · 308-309
- EusebiusNo. 31 · 309