Pope Soter
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Pope Saint Soter |
|
Papacy began |
c. 167 |
Papacy ended |
174 |
Predecessor |
|
Successor |
|
Personal details |
|
Birth name |
Soter |
Born |
|
Died |
c. 174 |
Sainthood |
|
Feast day |
22 April |
Pope Soter (Latin: Soterius; died c. 174) was
the Bishop of Rome from
c. 167 to his death c. 174.[1] According to
the Annuario Pontificio,
the dates may have ranged from 162–168 to 170–177.[2] He was born
in Fondi, Campania, today Lazio region, Italy.[3]Soter is known for
declaring that marriage was valid
only as a sacrament blessed
by a priest and also for formally
inaugurating Easter as an annual festival in Rome.[4] His name, from
Greek Σωτήριος from σωτήρ "saviour",
would be his baptismal name,
as his lifetime predates the tradition of adopting papal names.
Contents
·
2Reaction to the
Montanist movement
Roman Martyrology[edit]
Saint Soter's feast day is celebrated on 22 April, as
is that of Saint Caius.[5] The Roman Martyrology, the official list of
recognized saints, references Soter: "At Rome, Saint Soter, Pope, whom
Dionysius of Corinth praises for his outstanding charity towards needy exiled
Christians who came to him, and towards those who had been condemned to the mines."[5]
It has often been
supposed that all the earliest Popes suffered martyrdom, but the Roman
Martyrology does not give Pope Soter the title of martyr.[5] The book detailing
the 1969 revision of the General Roman
Calendar states: "There are no grounds for including Saint
Soter and Saint Caius among the martyrs."[6]
Reaction to the Montanist movement[edit]
The Montanist movement, which originated
in Asia Minor, made its way to Rome and Gaul in
the second half of the 2nd century, during the reign of Eleuterus. Its nature
did not diverge so much from the orthodoxy of the time for it to initially be
labeled heresy. During the violent persecution at Lyon,
in 177, local confessors wrote from their prison concerning the new movement to
the Asiatic and Phrygian communities
as well as to Pope Eleuterus.[7] The bearer of their
letter to the pope was the presbyter Irenaeus, soon to become Bishop of Lyon. It appears from statements of
Eusebius concerning these letters that the Christians of Lyon, though opposed
to the Montanist movement, advocated patience and pleaded for the preservation
of ecclesiastical unity.
When the Roman church
took its definite stand against Montanism is not precisely known. Tertullian records that a Roman bishop
sent some conciliatory letters to the Montanists, but based on the complaints
of Praxeas "concerning the prophets themselves and their churches, and by
insistence on the decisions of the bishop's predecessors" forced the
pontiff to recall these letters.[8] Another ancient
source states that "Holy Soter, Pope of the City, wrote against them a
book, as did the master, Apollonius of Ephesus.
Against these wrote the priest Tertullian of Carthage. Who in all ways wrote
well, wrote first and wrote incomparably, in this alone did reprehensibly, that
he defended Montanus".[9] At Rome, the Gnostics and Marcionites continued to preach against
the Catholic Church.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
1. ^ Chapman, John (1908). "Caius and
Soter, Saints and Popes" in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3.
New York: Robert Appleton Company.
2. ^ Annuario Pontificio 2012
(Libreria Editrice Vaticana, ISBN 978-88-209-8722-0),
p. 8*
4. ^ Pope
Saint Soter » Saints.SQPN.com
5. ^ Jump up to:a b c Martyrologium
Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
6. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Editrice
Vaticana 1969), p. 120
7. ^ Eusebius, Historia
Ecclesiastica, 5.3.4; translated by G.A. Williamson, Eusebius: The
History of the Church (Harmonsworth: Penguin, 1965), p. 206
9. ^ Pseudo-Augustine, Praedestinatorum Haeresis, 1.26
Preceded by |
Bishop of Rome |
Succeeded by |
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e Popes of the Catholic Church |
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e Saints of
the Catholic Church |
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LCCN: nb2007022944 ·
WorldCat Identities (via
VIAF): 64812635 |
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This page was last
edited on 15 December 2018, at 01:00 (UTC).
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