Pope Pontian
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For others called
Pontianus, see Pontianus.
For others called
Pontian, see Pontian.
Pope Saint Pontian |
|
Papacy began |
21 July 230 |
Papacy ended |
28 September 235 |
Predecessor |
|
Successor |
|
Personal details |
|
Died |
October 235 |
Sainthood |
|
Feast day |
13 August (Eastern Orthodox Church, Catholic Church 1969
calendar) |
Pope Pontian (Latin: Pontianus; died October 235)
was Pope from 21 July 230 to 28 September
235.[1] In 235, during the
persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, Pontian was arrested and sent
to the island of Sardinia. He resigned to
make the election of a new pope possible.[1]
Contents
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4Notes
Biography[edit]
A little more is known of
Pontian than his predecessors, apparently from a lost papal chronicle that was
available to the compiler of the Liberian Catalogue of
Bishops of Rome, written in the 4th century. The Liber Pontificalis states
that he was a Roman citizen and that his father's name was Calpurnius. Early
church historian Eusebiuswrote that he
reigned for six years.[2]
Pontian's pontificate was initially relatively
peaceful under the reign of the tolerant Emperor Severus Alexander. He presided over the Roman
synod which approved Origen's expulsion and
deposition by the Alexandrian bishop Demetrius in
230 or 231.[1][2] According to Eusebius,
the next emperor, Maximinus, overturned his predecessor's policy of tolerance
towards Christianity.[3] Both Pope Pontian
and the Antipope Hippolytus of Rome were
arrested and exiled to labor in the mines of Sardinia,[4] generally regarded
as a death sentence.[5]
In light of his sentence,
Pontian resigned as bishop (the first papal renunciation),
so as to allow an orderly transition in the Church of Rome, on 28 September
235; this date was recorded in the Liberian Catalogue and is notable for being
the first full date of a papal reign given by contemporaries. This action ended
a schism that had existed in the Church for
eighteen years. He was beaten to death with sticks.[2][4] Neither Hippolytus
nor Pontian survived, possibly reconciling with one another there or in Rome
before their deaths. Pontian died in October 235.[6]
Veneration[edit]
Pope Fabian had the bodies of both
Pontian and Hippolytus brought back to Rome in 236 or 237, and the former
buried in the papal crypt in the Catacomb of Callixtus on
the Appian Way.[4][7] The slab covering
his tomb was discovered in 1909. On it is inscribed in Greek: Ποντιανός
Επίσκ (Pontianus Episk; in
English Pontianus Bish). The inscription
"Μάρτυρ", "MARTUR" had been
added in another hand.[1]
In the Eastern Orthodox
Church and the General Roman Calendar
of 1969, Pontian and Hippolytus are commemorated jointly on 13
August.[8][9] In those Catholic
communities which use a historical calendar such as the General
Roman Calendar of 1960, Pontian's feast day is celebrated on 19 November.[10]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Kirsch,
Johann Peter (1911). "Pope St. Pontian" in The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c Kelly,
J.N.D. (1986). The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. p. 16.
3. ^ Papandrea, James L. (January 23,
2012). Reading the Early Church Fathers: From the Didache to Nicaea.
Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0809147519.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b c Fr.
Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI (1997). "Sts. Pontian & Hippolytus". My
First Book of Saints. Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic
Publications. pp. 179–180. ISBN 978-971-91595-4-4.
5. ^ G. W. Clarke, "Some Victims of
the Persecution of Maximinus Thrax," Historia: Zeitschrift für
Alte Geschichte, Bd. 15, H. 4 (November 1966): pp. 445-453.
6. ^ Richard P. McBrien, Lives of
the Popes (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 2000), 45.
7. ^ McBrien, Lives of the Popes,
45.
8. ^ http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/stdaug.htm
9. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria
Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 146
10. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia.
References[edit]
·
Herbermann,
Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope St. Pontian" . Catholic Encyclopedia.
New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links[edit]
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Succeeded by |
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LCCN: nb2007022914 ·
WorldCat Identities (via
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This page was last
edited on 15 February 2019, at 18:25 (UTC).
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