Melchiades came from North Africa, despite his Greek name. He was Pope during the peace granted by Emperor Constantine to the Church. Shortly after the Edict of Milan (313), which guaranteed the peace and freedom of the Church, Emperor Constantine gave the Pontiff an estate in the Lateran imperial palace, which became the official residence of the popes. On an adjoining lot, Constantine himself had the first Roman basilica built, the Lateran Basilica, known today as St. John Lateran.
San Melquiades was the victim of the attacks of the donorsand gathered a council to condemn their doctrines. The rigorist Donatism, initiated by Donatus, bishop of Carthage, preached that only those priests of blameless life could administer the sacraments, and that sinners could not be members of the Church.
Pope Miltiades or Melquíades distinguished himself for his efforts to achieve concord. According to the Liber Pontificalis, he began with the practice of distributing in the churches of Rome the Eucharist consecrated by the Pope himself. He worked to reorganize the Church and places of worship, died in 314, and was buried in the cemetery of St. Callixtus. He is considered a martyr for the sufferings he endured under Emperor Maximian.
