Who was the fourth Roman pope?

Answer 1

Another answer from our community:

Pope St. Clement I (called CLEMENS ROMANUS to distinguish him from the Alexandrian) was the fourth pope of the Catholic Church.

Answer 2

Catholic Answer:
Although the terms pope and bishop were not used until decades later, Pope Anacletus was the third leader of the Catholic Church and considered the third pope. It took quite a while for the Church to develop the hierarchy as we know it today. However, all those chosen to be the leader of the Church from Saint Peter down to the present are considered to be popes. The post of 'Bishop of Rome' is, by default, a title of the highest ranking cleric in Rome - the pope. At any time a pope could move the headquarters of the Church to another location, say Buenos Aires, Argentina. He would no longer be the Bishop of Rome but would become the Bishop of Buenos Aires as well as the Pope.

Answer 3

These is some confusion about the proper sequence of names of the earliest popes. However, Pope Saint Clement I is generally considered the 4th pope. However, if by your question you are asking "Who was the 4th pope from Rome?" that would be Pope Sixtus I who was the pope from 115-125 and the 4th pope from Rome.

Answer 4

We do not really know who was the third pope, or bishop of Rome. Catholic tradition says that Anacletus was the third bishop of Rome, and therefore third pope. However, Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that most scholars are of the opinion that, in spite of Church tradition, the church of Rome was led by a group of presbyters, and that bishops were not appointed to the church in Rome until later in the second century. In other words, there can have been no Pope Anacletus, although it is conceivable there was a presbyter of than name.

Based on what we now know, the first true, monepiscopal bishop of Rome was probably Pius I or Anicetus, meaning that Soter (167-174) or Eleuterus (174-189) might have been the third real bishop of Rome.

For more information on the early popes, please visit:

http://christianity.answers.com/catholicism/a-brief-history-of-the-early-popes

Answer 5

We do not really know who was the fourth pope, or bishop of Rome. Catholic tradition says that Clement I was the fourth bishop of Rome, and therefore fourth pope. However, Francis A. Sullivan SJ (From Apostles to Bishops) says that most scholars are of the opinion that, in spite of Church tradition, the church of Rome was led by a group of presbyters, and that bishops were not appointed to the church in Rome until later in the second century. In other words, there can have been no Pope Clement I, although it is conceivable there was a presbyter of than name.
Based on what we now know, the first true, monepiscopal bishop of Rome was probably Pius I or Anicetus, meaning that Eleuterus (174-189) or Victor I (189-199) might have been the fourth real bishop of Rome.