Pope Evaristus ( Greek: Ευάριστος) was the bishop of Rome from 99/100 to his death in 107/108. He was also known as Aristus and is venerated as a saint in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and Oriental Orthodoxy. It is likely that

John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...

died during his reign period, marking the end of the Apostolic Age.

Biography

According to the ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

'', he was a Greek by birth, fathered by a Greek Jew named Judah from the city of Bethlehem. See also th
original Latin
Eusebius, in his '' Ecclesiastical History'', states that Evaristus took office in the 3rd year of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

's reign, which correspond to AD 99/100, and died in the 12th year of the same reign (AD 108/109) after holding the office for nine years. He divided titles among the priests in the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and ordained seven deacons to assist with the bishop's preaching. According to Reverend John F. Sullivan, Evaristus decreed that “in accordance with Apostolic tradition marriage should be celebrated publicly and with the blessing of the priest”.

further describes him as the one "crowned with martyrdom". The same is indicated also by French historian Alexis-François Artaud de Montor. However, in the Roman Martyrology he is listed without the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

title, with a feast day on 26 October. Pope Evaristus is buried near the body of Saint Peter in the Vatican, in Saint Peter's tomb under Saint Peter's Basilica.

List of popes This chronological list of the popes of the Catholic Church corresponds to that given in the under the heading "" (The Roman Supreme Pontiffs), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes. Published every year by the Roman Curia ...

References

External links

Writings attributed to Pope St Evaristus

Catholic Online – Saints & Angels: ''St. Evaristus''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evaristus 1st-century births 107 deaths 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Christian saints 2nd-century Romans Papal saints People from Bethlehem Greek popes Popes 1st-century Jews 1st-century people 2nd-century Jews Year of birth unknown 1st-century popes 2nd-century popes Burials at St. Peter's Basilica Asian popes Syrian popes