Pope Anacletus

Saint Anacletus
Birth name	Anacletus, Anencletus or Cletus
Papacy began	circa 79
Papacy ended	circa 90
Predecessor	Linus
Successor	Clement I
Born	Unknown Rome, Italy
Died	circa 90 Rome, Italy

In Catholic tradition, Pope Saint Anacletus (d. c. 88 - 92 C.E.), was the third bishop of Rome, after Saint Peter and Saint Linus. Whether he was the same as Pope Cletus was formerly the subject of much discussion, but today both Catholic and non-Catholic authorities agree that the two were probably identical. The name "Cletus" in Ancient Greek means, "one who has been called," and "Anacletus" means "one who has been called back."

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Cletus/Anacletus was a Roman, although his Greek name leads some to speculate otherwise. This source gives his reign (as Cletus) as being 12 years. However, it also provides dates from the regal years of certain Roman consuls that imply a reign of about half that long.

One of the few surviving records concerning Anacletus' papacy describes him as having ordained 25 priests, and tradition holds that it was he who divided Rome into 25 parishes. Anacletus, as a different person from Cletus, is also credited with adorning the sepulcher of Saint Peter.

Cletus/Anacletus is said to have died as a martyr, perhaps about the year 91, although no details of his death have survived. He was reportedly buried next to his predecessor, Pope Saint Linus, in St. Peter's Basilica, in what is now Vatican City.

Cletus and Anacletus

Most contemporary scholars, including many Catholics, do not believe that the office of pope existed as such at Rome during the first century C.E. Rather, a collective leadership of several bishops or presbyters was more likely the case. The term "pope" is thus thought to have been applied to leaders like Anacletus retroactively.

Whatever his role was, however, there is considerable uncertainty about Anacletus' identity. The Church Fathers Irenaeus, Eusebius, Augustine, and Optatus, all use both "Anacletus" and "Cletus" in speaking of the same person. On the other hand, the Catalogus Liberianus, the Carmen contra Marcionem, and the Liber Pontificalis—all considered highly respectable due to their antiquity—make Cletus and Anacletus distinct from each other. Some sources hold that Anacletus was a Greek, while Cletus as a Roman.

Tertullian omits Cletus/Anacletus altogether, and to add to the confusion, Cletus comes before Clement of Rome in some lists and after him in others. The order of the bishops in Irenaeus and the Liber Pontificalis is thus Linus, Cletus/Anacletus, Clement; but Augustine, Optatus, and the Apostolic Constitutions put Clement before Cletus/Anacletus. Modern scholarship has tended to agree with those authorities who consider the "two" popes, Cletus and Anacletus, as one, placing him in line after Linus and before Clement.

Legacy

In February 1961, the Vatican decreed that "the feast of 'Saint Anacletus'… is transferred to April 26, under its right name, 'Saint Cletus'." The contemporary Roman Martyrology mentions the pope in question only under the name of "Cletus."

The current Pontifical Yearbook (Annuario Pontificio) admits: "For the first two centuries, the dates of the start and the end of the pontificate are uncertain." It gives the years 80 to 92 as the reign of Pope Cletus/Anacletus. Other contemporary sources give the years 77 to 88.

Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by: Linus	Bishop of Rome Pope 79–88	Succeeded by: Clement I

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Chapman, John. Studies on the Early Papacy. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1971. ISBN 9780804611398.
• Fortescue, Adrian, and Scott M. P. Reid. The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451. Southampton: Saint Austin Press, 1997. ISBN 9781901157604.
• Jowett, George F. The Drama of the Lost Disciples. London: Covenant Pub. Co, 1968. OCLC 7181392
• Loomis, Louise Ropes. The Book of Popes (Liber Pontificalis). Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 1889758868.

Popes of the Catholic Church Peter Linus Anacletus Clement I Evaristus Alexander I Sixtus I Telesphorus Hyginus Pius I Anicetus Soter Eleuterus Victor I Zephyrinus Callixtus I Urban I Pontian Anterus Fabian Cornelius Lucius I Stephen I Sixtus II Dionysius Felix I Eutychian Caius Marcellinus Marcellus I Eusebius Miltiades Sylvester I Mark Julius I Liberius Damasus I Siricius Anastasius I Innocent I Zosimus Boniface I Celestine I Sixtus III Leo I Hilarius Simplicius Felix III Gelasius I Anastasius II Symmachus Hormisdas John I Felix IV Boniface II John II Agapetus I Silverius Vigilius Pelagius I John III Benedict I Pelagius II Gregory I Sabinian Boniface III Boniface IV Adeodatus I Boniface V Honorius I Severinus John IV Theodore I Martin I Eugene I Vitalian Adeodatus II Donus Agatho Leo II Benedict II John V Conon Sergius I John VI John VII Sisinnius Constantine Gregory II Gregory III Zachary Stephen II Paul I Stephen III Adrian I Leo III Stephen IV Paschal I Eugene II Valentine Gregory IV Sergius II Leo IV Benedict III Nicholas I Adrian II John VIII Marinus I Adrian III Stephen V Formosus Boniface VI Stephen VI Romanus Theodore II John IX Benedict IV Leo V Sergius III Anastasius III Lando John X Leo VI Stephen VII John XI Leo VII Stephen VIII Marinus II Agapetus II John XII Leo VIII Benedict V John XIII Benedict VI Benedict VII John XIV John XV Gregory V Sylvester II John XVII John XVIII Sergius IV Benedict VIII John XIX Benedict IX Sylvester III Benedict IX Gregory VI Clement II Benedict IX Damasus II Leo IX Victor II Stephen IX Nicholas II Alexander II Gregory VII Victor III Urban II Paschal II Gelasius II Callixtus II Honorius II Innocent II Celestine II Lucius II Eugene III Anastasius IV Adrian IV Alexander III Lucius III Urban III Gregory VIII Clement III Celestine III Innocent III Honorius III Gregory IX Celestine IV Innocent IV Alexander IV Urban IV Clement IV Gregory X Innocent V Adrian V John XXI Nicholas III Martin IV Honorius IV Nicholas IV Celestine V Boniface VIII Benedict XI Clement V John XXII Benedict XII Clement VI Innocent VI Urban V Gregory XI Urban VI Boniface IX Innocent VII Gregory XII Martin V Eugene IV Nicholas V Callixtus III Pius II Paul II Sixtus IV Innocent VIII Alexander VI Pius III Julius II Leo X Adrian VI Clement VII Paul III Julius III Marcellus II Paul IV Pius IV Pius V Gregory XIII Sixtus V Urban VII Gregory XIV Innocent IX Clement VIII Leo XI Paul V Gregory XV Urban VIII Innocent X Alexander VII Clement IX Clement X Innocent XI Alexander VIII Innocent XII Clement XI Innocent XIII Benedict XIII Clement XII Benedict XIV Clement XIII Clement XIV Pius VI Pius VII Leo XII Pius VIII Gregory XVI Pius IX Leo XIII Pius X Benedict XV Pius XI Pius XII John XXIII Paul VI John Paul I John Paul II Benedict XVI Currently: Francis