Hippolytus Of Rome Series

Hippolytus of Rome

Who was Hippolytus? I have never heard of this man, and for a good reason – He is a Catholic saint; I am a Baptist. However, he has a part to play in the development of the Catholic Church, and I hope this article provides you with enough information that you can answer the question; "Who was Hippolytus of Rome"?

Venerated in: Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox

Feast: Roman Catholic: August 13

Died: c. 235 AD (age about 65); Sardinia

Born: c. 170 AD; Rome

Hippolytus (c. 160–236) was a prolific writer and one of the most significant theologians of the third century. He is known today for promoting orthodox Christology amid the confusion and bad doctrine in the Church at Rome.

Hippolytus was a presbyter (elder) in the Church at Rome, while Zephyrinus and Callistus served as the bishops. Both bishops supported some form of Modalism[1], which viewed the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as simply three "modes" or manifestations of the same Person. They saw those with a more Trinitarian understanding as believing in separate gods. Modalism[1] is also known as Modalistic Monarchianism[1], Sabellianism[1] (after Sabellius[1], one of its strongest proponents), and Patripassianism[2] ("father-suffering") since it taught that it was God the Father who was born as the Son and died on the Cross and raised Himself from the dead. Hippolytus, in contrast, understood Jesus as a fully divine but distinct Person from the Father.

Hippolytus was elected as a rival bishop of the Roman Church for a while. For these doctrinal differences and the bishops' relaxing of moral standards, Hippolytus bitterly opposed both bishops and Callistus' successors, Urban and Pontianus. Ultimately, Hippolytus and Pontianus were exiled to Sardinia under Emperor Maximus Thorax, and a new Roman bishop was installed, ending the factional controversy. It is possible that Hippolytus died working in the mines, although, much later, some more exciting legends about his life and death became popular.

Hippolytus is known for his writings against heresy and the vital information he preserves about baptismal practices, Eucharistic services, and the ordination of ministers. He is also known for taking a hard line about the high behavioral and moral standards required of church members. His high standards were not always shared by the bishops mentioned above of Rome, which also contributed to the schism.

In what has been called Hippolytus' most important work, Refutation of All Heresies (or the Philosophumena), Hippolytus attempted to demonstrate that all Christian heresies spring from reliance upon pagan philosophy. Many of his writings, translated into English, are readily available online, including Commentary on the Prophet Daniel, Commentary on the Song of Songs, and Christ and the Antichrist, an eschatological work.

In its first several centuries, the Church dealt with external and internal crises. Externally, the Church suffered for nearly 250 years under the violent persecutions of Roman emperors, beginning under mad Nero in A.D. 64 and finally stopping under Constantine in 313. Internally, the Church wrestled with heresies, schism, and matters of discipline. One of the main issues of disagreement in those early centuries concerned the treatment of the faithful who committed severe sins or apostatized during the persecutions. Two camps emerged within the Church: those who advocated mercy for the fallen and those—called "rigorists"—who advocated harsh penalties or even permanent exclusion of the fallen.

St. Hippolytus's date of birth is not known, and only fragmentary data exists about his early life. It is known that he was a brilliant and gifted theologian and is considered a Church Father. He wrote treatises against several of the heresies afflicting the Church in the late second and early third centuries—most of them Trinitarian or Christological, as early Christians sometimes struggled to discern the correct terminology to apply to the apostolic teaching that Jesus was true God and true man.

Hippolytus's break lasted for nineteen years and through three pontificates. As a rigorist who did not believe that grave sinners should be re-admitted to communion in the Church, he refused to accept the more-merciful approach of Callistus and his successors. However, Hippolytus would soon have cause to soften his stance and even re-evaluate his separation from communion.

In 235, a career soldier named Maximins Thrax was proclaimed emperor by the legions in Germany. Shortly afterward, he turned his attention to the Church, and persecution erupted that targeted the clergy. The reigning Pope, St. Pontian, and the "antipope" Hippolytus were arrested and sent to the mines on the island of Sardinia. Amidst the suffering and hardship of the mines, Hippolytus renounced his schism and papal claim and was reconciled to the Church by Pontian. Both men later succumbed to the harsh conditions, and their remains were transported for burial in Rome, where they were recognized as martyrs and saints of the Church.

Hippolytus is accorded special recognition in Church history: Not only is he the first antipope, but he is also the only antipope ever canonized! His unique case provides an example of repentance and reconciliation for those who have separated themselves from the Church.