Eleuterus or
Eleutherius,
pope from about
175 to
189.
Allusions to him are found in the letters of the martyrs of
Lyons, cited
by
Eusebius, and in other documents of the time. The
Liber Pontificalis,
at the beginning of the
6th century, says that he had relations with a
British king, Lucius, who was desirous of being converted to
Christianity.
This tradition - Roman, not British - is an enigma to critics, and,
apparently, has no historical foundation.
- preceded by Pope Soter, (166-175)
- succeeded by Pope Victor I, (189-199)
from a 1911 encyclopedia