ELEUTHERIUS (Saint) Pope, Martyr (May 26) (2nd century) The successor in Saint Peter’s Chair of Pope Saint Soter, whose deacon he had been. During his Pontificate, the Fourth General Persecution, that under Marcus Aurelius, took place, raging chiefly in Gaul, though there were Martyrs also in Rome. Saint Eleutherius had likewise to deal with the Montanist heretics whom he exposed and condemned, and with some forms of Gnosticism then rife even in Rome. A remarkable event of the Pontificate of Saint Eleutherius (variously dated A.D. 170-185, or 182-193) was his sending missionaries to the Pagans of Britain, for the trustworthiness of the tradition concerning which there is very satisfying evidence. The circumstances of the death of St Eleutherius are not known.