1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Eleutherius

by Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne

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.  (L. D.*)