Reigned c.174to 189. Born Nicopolis (Epirus), Greece; died Rome, Italy. As pope he is said to have declared against the Montanists. The statement which makes him the recipient of a letter from Lucius, a British king, expressing a desire to become a Christian, is rejected by recent historians as improbable. A more plausible theory is that the letter was from Lucius Abgar IX, King of Edessa (Britium), 179-214. Feast, Roman Calendar, May 26,.