Telesphorus Terranova da Sibari

Born [date unknown] in Terranova da Sibari, Calabria, Roman Empire

Died about 0137 in Roma, Roman Empire

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Biography

Pope St Telesphorus Terranova da Sibari is Notable.

Telesphorus was born in Terranova da Sibari, Calabria. He was Greek speaking.^[1][2]

He was an anchorite monk prior to being consecrated Bishop of Rome in 127 or 128.^[2][1]

A fragment of a letter from Irenæus to Pope Victor I during the Easter controversy in the late 2nd century, also preserved by Eusebius, testifies that Telesphorus was one of the Roman bishops who always celebrated Easter on Sunday, rather than on other days of the week according to the calculation of the Jewish Passover. Unlike Victor, however, Telesphorus remained in communion with those communities that did not follow this custom.^[2]

He was martyred in 137 or 138.^[1][2]

Flocknote Popes in a Year ^[3] tells us:

St. Irenaeus identified St. Telesphorus as Pope No. 8 and the seventh successor of St. Peter in Adversus haeresis ("Against Heresy").

He was born in Terranuova, a little town on the tip of Italy's boot, and had Greek ancestry. Telesphorus is traditionally understood as the first pope to have been a hermit and monk prior to his papacy. St. Irenaeus describes him as having been a "glorious martyr" in the Adversus haeresis, probably under the emperor Hadrian.

St. Irenaeus also added, in a letter to Pope Victor I, that Telesphorus always celebrated Easter on Sunday instead of during the week, whenever the Jewish Passover was calculated. However, he still said, "it's okay guys" to the churches who didn't observe that tradition, choosing to stay unified with them instead of breaking up the Church unnecessarily.

Telesphorus is the patron and namesake of the town of Saint-Télesphore, located in the southwest corner of the province of Quebec, Canada.

In 126 A.D., Roman emperor Hadrian demolished the old Pantheon and began building a new one in Rome, which just so happens to still exist today. What's more, since the 7th Century it's been a church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Vatican
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Wikipedia Pope Telesphorus
3. ↑ Flocknote Popes in a Year
   SOURCES (and further reading)
   - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Telesphorus
   - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14477b.htm
   - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome