Feast day: April 22
Pope St. Soter
An early pope remembered for his exceptional generosity, sending aid to far-off churches and comforting Christians condemned to the mines, and traditionally counted a martyr.
Soter was Bishop of Rome — pope — for about eight years in the later second century, from roughly 167 to 175. Little is known of his life in detail, but a precious glimpse survives in a letter written to him by Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, a fragment of which is preserved by the historian Eusebius.
That letter praises Soter for the generosity of the Roman Church, which under him sent material help to needy Christian communities far and wide and welcomed and consoled travellers and those condemned to the mines. Dionysius compares Soter to a loving father caring for his children, and notes that his letter was read aloud in the Sunday assembly at Corinth.
This testimony makes Soter a vivid early witness to the Roman Church's tradition of charity reaching across the whole Christian world — a ministry of practical love as much as of teaching. He is also credited with rulings concerning marriage and the date of Easter.
By long tradition he is honoured as a martyr, though the circumstances are not recorded. His name is remembered together with that of Pope Caius in the Roman calendar.
A letter survives thanking him because the church of Rome under his care sent help to Christians across the empire — 'from the beginning, your custom.'
Image: VCR Giulio19 (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: newadvent.org/cathen/03144c.htm
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