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.

Contents

1 Cletus and Anacletus
2 Legacy
3 References
4 Credits



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


ReferencesISBN 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

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