Saint Telesphorus

Among several fine regulations he made for the advancement of the Church, one of the principal ones was that of the forty-day fast before Easter, which we call Lent. It is not that he was the first author of this observance; for Saint Ignatius, martyr, who lived before him, makes mention of it in his Epistle to the Philippians; and it is the common sentiment of the Fathers of the Church that it is of apostolic tradition: many even speak of it as a thing of divine institution, in that Our Lord taught it to us by His example. But what this holy Pope did was to establish by decree what was kept only by the authority of tradition, and to reawaken the fervor of Christians who were beginning to slacken in this holy practice: one may see on this subject a very curious treatise concerning fasts, which Father Thomassin, so well known for his insight into ecclesiastical antiquity, gave to the public. It is also said that our Saint ordered that at the solemnity of Christmas, Mass would be celebrated in the middle of the night, whereas at other times, it was celebrated only at the hour of Terce, that is to say, around nine o'clock in the morning: which must be understood of the solemn Mass, and of what was most ordinarily done in the churches. He is also attributed with the command to sing the hymn of the angels: *Gloria in excelsis*, etc., before the action of the sacrifice. All these ordinances are reported in the * Liber pontificalis Liber pontificalis Primary historical source cited for this biography. *.

During the time of this blessed pontiff, there arose three very pernicious heretics, namely: Valentinus, Marcion, and Apelles, whose impious and sacrilegious dogmas are recorded by Saint Epiphanius and by other ecclesiastical authors who have written on heresies. This apostolic man did not fail to combat them with all the vigor that could be expected from a head of the Church as learned and as pious as he was, and he was aided in this combat by the great Saint Justin, a Christian ph saint Justin Saint to whom the virtues of Misselin are compared. ilosopher, who also later presented to the emperors two excellent apologies to justify our holy religion against the crimes that the pagans imputed to it, driven as they were by their own malice and by the diabolical doctrine and corrupt morals of these heretics who passed themselves off as Christians. Finally, Saint Telesphorus, after having governed the Church for eleven years, three months, and twenty-two days, was crowned with a most glorious martyrdom, as Saint Irenaeus expressly states. He had performed ordinations three times in the month of December, and created twelve priests, eight deacons, and thirteen bishops. His body w as buri Vatican Burial place of Saint Gelasius. ed at the Vatican, near that of the Prince of the Apostles, and his memory is celebrated in the Church on the very day of his martyrdom, according to the order of the breviary reformed by Clement VIII.

Saint Telesphorus is depicted with a chalice surmounted by three hosts, to recall that he instituted the practice of saying three masses on Christmas Day. The Roman Martyrology mentions him on this day, after the vigil of the Epiphany, as do those of Bible and Umari, and generally all the authors who have written the lives of the sovereign Phaidons. Zegon of Paul, sub-prior of the Carmelites of Cologne, composed the life of our Saint with notes, and Rolandus dates it to January 5th.