Hieromartyr
Hieromartyr Telesphorus, Bishop of Rome
? — ок. 136/138
Also known as: Телесфор Римский, папа Телесфор
Hieromartyr Telesphorus, Bishop of Rome — the eighth head of the Roman Church (c. 125/128-136/138), who, according to the testimony of Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyon, "endured a glorious martyrdom"; this is the earliest independent testimony to the martyrdom of a Bishop of Rome after the apostles, though the specific circumstances of his death have not been preserved.
Hieromartyr Telesphorus, according to tradition a native of Calabria (southern Italy) of Greek origin, headed the Roman see from approximately 125/128 to 136/138 — the eighth bishop of Rome after the Apostle Peter. Almost no reliable details of his pontificate have survived.
The significance of this saint in church history rests chiefly on the testimony of Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyon (writing c. 180, i.e. relatively close in time) — he explicitly states that Telesphorus "endured a glorious martyrdom" (ἐνδόξως ἐμαρτύρησεν). This is the earliest independent confirmation of the martyrdom of a Bishop of Rome after the apostolic age, unlike the later, more formulaic martyrdom claims for early popes found only in the considerably later Liber Pontificalis. The specific circumstances of his death (under which emperor, by what means) have not survived in any source. He was buried near the Apostle Peter on the Vatican Hill.