Below is a list of all of the popes who reigned during the third century. The first number is which pope they were. This is followed by their chosen name, the starting and ending dates of their reigns, and finally the number of years they were pope. Follow the links to read short biographies of each pope and learn about what they did, what they believed, and what impact they had on the course of the Roman Catholic Church.
15. St. Zephyrinus: 199 - 217 (18 years)
Although his predecessor, Victor I, became known as an early example of a strong pope, Zephyrinus was almost the complete opposite. He was accused of a wide variety of errors and faults, but everything seemed to come back to his inability to act in defense of orthodoxy and his willingness to allow heresy to continue unchallenged.
16. St. Callistus I: 217 - 222 (5 years)
Pope Callistus I (whose name means "very handsome" in Greek) seems to be something of a contradiction. On the one hand, his name is recorded as the very first martyred pope (after Peter) in the oldest record of church martyrs, Depositio Martyrum (c. 354).
17. St. Urban I: 222 - 230 (8 years)
Almost nothing is known about Pope Urban I. His pontificate fell during the imperial reign of Alexander Severus, so he didn't have to deal with harsh persecutions of Christians.
18. St. Pontain: July 21, 230 - September 28, 235 (5 years)
The reign of Pope Pontian started out easily enough, but once emperor Alexander Severus was succeeded by Maximus Thrax, everything changed for him and the Christian communities.
19. St. Anterus: November 21, 235 - January 3, 236 (1 month)
Just about the only thing that can be said about Pope Anterus is that he was Greek.
20. St. Fabian: January 10, 236 - January 20, 250 (14 years)
Not very much is known about Pope Fabian. He is reported to have founded a number of churches and to have taken steps to improve the organizational structure of the growing church.
21. St. Cornelius: March, 251 - June, 253 (2 years)
Cornelius became pope at a very difficult time for the Catholic Church. His predecessor, Fabian, had died more than a year before. The long delay was due the bitter persecutions being suffered under the reign of emperor Decius.
22. St. Lucius I: June 25, 253 - March 5, 254 (8 months)
Not very much is known about Pope Lucius I, but he was caught in the persecutions of Christians under Emperor Trebonianus Gallus and exiled from Rome for a time just after his election.
23. St. Stephen I: May 12, 254 - August 2, 257 (3 years)
Not a great deal is known about Pope Stephen I and much of what we do have comes from the writings of Novatus, condemned as a heretic. He is perhaps best known for his involvement in the controversy over what to do with the Lapsed Christians who renounced their faith under the persecutions of Roman Emperor Decius.
24. St. Sixtus II: August 21, 257 - August 6, 258 (about 1 year)
Sixtus II was martyred in Rome under the persecutions instituted by emperor Valerian. Not too longer before Sixtus was elected pope Valerian had decreed that all Christians were required to participate in ceremonies honoring the Roman gods.
25. St. Dionysius: July 22, 260 - December 26, 268 (8 years)
Pope Dionysius had a difficult papacy due to the ongoing persecution of the Christian Church. In fact, he couldn't even be elected until news had reached Rome that Emperor Valerian I had died abroad.
26. St. Felix I: July 22, 260 - December 30, 269 (8 years)
Not very much is known about Pope Felix I, but he is believed to have given official approval to the practice of saying prayers over the graves of martyrs and other deceased Christians.
27. St. Eutychian: January 4, 275 - December 7, 283 (8 years, 11 months)
Not a great deal is known about Pope Eutychian - even the dates of his reign are rather uncertain.
28. St. Caius (Gaius): December 17, 283 - April 22, 296 (12 years)
Very little is known about Pope Gaius and what has been found is suspect. All in all, however, it appears that his papacy was relatively quiet and peaceful.
29. St. Marcellinus: June 30, 296 - ?
When Marcellinus became pope Diocletian was already emperor but he had no yet begun his infamous persecutions of Christians. Gradually, however, the tolerance turned to intolerance.
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