English saints

Marcellinus meaning
Saint sylvester
Marcellinus pronunciation

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Pope St. Marcellinus was the 29th pope in history and led the Christian Church from 296 to 304 AD, a really tough time for Christians because of the Diocletianic Persecution.

This was when the Roman Empire was trying very hard to stop people from being Christians, making them choose between giving up their faith or facing severe punishment.

Not much is known about Marcellinus himself, and there are stories that he might have given up his faith under pressure, though later, people said this wasn’t true. This guide will take a closer look at his time as Pope, how he and the Church managed during these hard times, and what kind of mark he left on the Christian faith, especially when it was so hard to keep believing.

Early Life

Known as Marcellinus before becoming pope, he was born in an unnamed city in Rome sometime around 250. He likely worked for the Church in some type of capacity before taking on the position. On June 30, 296, the Church elected Marcellinus as the next pope.

Pagans and Persecution

Marcellinus inherited a papacy fraught with problems stemming fro

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Pope Saint Marcellinus

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Date of birth unknown; elected 30 June, 296; died 304. According to the "Liber Pontificalis" he was a Roman, son of a certain Projectus. The Liberian Catalogue of popes (ed. Duchesne, "Lib. Pont." I, 6-7) gives 30 June as the day of his election, and the years 296-304 as the time of his pontificate. These dates, accepted by the author of the "Liber Pontificalis", are verified by that ancient source. Nothing has been handed down concerning the activities of this pope in his reign of eight years. We learn from the Roman deacon Severus's epitaph in the Catacomb of Callistus (De Rossi, "Roma Sotterranea", III, 46 tav. V) that at that time new burial chambers were made in the chief cemetery of the Roman Church. Severus says that he had laid out a double cubiculum with luminare and arcosolium, "jussu papæ sui Marcellini". This happene

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Marcellinus, Pope, St.

Pontificate: June 30, 296 to Oct. 25, 304. The Libe pontificalis calls Marcellinus a Roman, the son of Projectus, and places his pontificate during the persecution of Diocletian. It repeats the story, circulated later by the Donatists (see donatism), that the pope, when apprehended and ordered to sacrifice to the gods, complied and handed over the sacred books to the persecuting authorities. Torn with remorse, the pope is said to have repented and sought martyrdom several days later. His body was buried by the priest Marcellus in the private cemetery of Priscilla on the Via Salaria.

The accusations of apostasy brought against Marcellinus and other Catholic bishops, including the future popes Miltiades, Marcellus, and Silvester, are acknowledged and rejected by St. Augustine (Contra Litteram Petil. 2.92.202; De unico baptismo 16; Brev. coll. 3.18) and repeated in the Acts (c. 500) of the alleged Council of Sinuessa, which lays great stress on the pope's repentance and martyrdom. Eusebius states that the pope "was overcome by the persecution" an