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St. Anterus was elected Pope even before the death of St. Pontian. Pontian, evidently considering that he could not rule the Church efficiently from a Sardinian mine, abdicated.

Anterus, according to the "Liber Pontificalis," was a Greek, the son of Romulus. He ruled the Church for a very short time, about forty days. He ordained a bishop for Fundi in Campania. The memory of Anterus should be dear to historians, for he ordered that the acts of the martyrs should be collected from notaries and kept in the church.

St. Anterus probably died a martyr. At any rate the Church celebrates his feast as that of a martyr on January 3. He was buried in the Cemetery of Calixtus. A stone with the inscription "Antherus Epi[scopus]" written in Greek letters has been discovered in this cemetery.

Excerpted from "Popes Through the Ages" by Joseph Brusher, S.J.