Sts. Pontian and Hippolytus, Two Martyrs of the 3rd century A.D.

St. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and St. Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr: died ca. 235 A.D.

A Pope and an AntiPope (reconciled to the Church before death)

A Pope and an AntiPope existed as early as the 3rd century A.D. St. Pontian was a Roman and the son of Calpurnius. He was elected Pope to succeed Pope St. Urban I on July 21, 230 A.D. He held a synod at Rome in 232 A.D. that confirmed the condemnation of Origenism at Alexandria, 231-232 A.D. When the Emperor Maximinus came to power in 235 A.D., this emperor began a new persecution of Christians. He exiled St. Pontian to Sardinia, where the Pope had been forced to work in the mines. Here in the mines, he met the exiled antipope, Hippolytus, and was instrumental in reconciling Hippolytus back to the Church.

St. Pontian resigned from his office on September 28, 235 A.D., to allow the election of a nephew. There are two versions of how he met his end: one tradition says that he died of ill treatment, while another tradition holds that he was beaten to death. The Church celebrates the feast of his martyrdom on August 13.

St. Hippolytus was a priest at Rome known for his learning. Together with his followers, he felt that even orthodox teaching and practice in the Church was not strict enough. In a bold gesture, he censured Pope St. Zephyrinus for being lenient on heresy. He also accused the Pope of being influenced by the deacon Callistus. When Pope St. Zephyrinus died and Callistus was chosen as successor, Hippolytus was enraged. He and his followers eventually accused Pope St. Callistus of being too lenient with sinners. The followers of Hippolytus proceeded to elect him as their pope - serving in this role of "antipope" for eighteen years. His tenure lasted through three popes, the last of whom was Pope St. Pontian.

Although at times, Hippolytus came close to heresy, he nevertheless was one of the most important theologians in the first three centuries of the Church. He was a prolific writer, and it is from his Church Order that all the Eucharistic prayers which are in use today were derived. His other writings include:

• A Refutation of All Heresies;
• commentaries on Daniel,
• commentaries on the Song of Songs,
• commentaries on the The Apostolic Tradition

St. Hippolytus is one of the Greek Fathers of the Church. Though an "antipope", he was one of the leaders of the Church which Emperor Maximinus took special care to target in his persecution of the Christians. So, he was also seized in the roundup and exiled to the mines of Sardinia. While in the mines, the two "popes" (Pontian and Hippolytus) met. What influenced Hippolytus to return to the Church was when he saw the selfless concern of Pope St. Pontian, who resigned the papacy for the good of the Church. Within a few months of Pontian's resignation and Hippolytus's repentance, both men died of the harsh treatment they suffered while doing forced labor in the mines.

Pope St. Fabian (reigned 236-250 A.D.) arranged for the bodies of the two martyrs to be brought back and buried in Rome, where the Christians of the city accepted the onetime antipope's (Hippolytus) repentance, forgave him his schism, and venerated him as a saint.

References of this series

• Pocket Catholic Dictionary, by John A. Hardon, S.J.
• Saints Behaving Badly, by Thomas J. Craughwell
• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
• Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom