2007 Archive Edition - See the Archive Notice on the Project Homepage for more information.

Hippolytus [or: Hippolytus of Rome]

St. Hippolytus (c. 170-235 C.E.) was a presbyter in Rome. He critisized the Roman Bishops Zephyrinus (198-217) and Callistus (217-222), and stressed the need for a more firm position against Modalism. He was also severely critical against Callistus' policies concerning forgiveness of sins and marriages between free Christian women and slaves. In both respects, Hippolytus held a conservative position. The conflicts between him and his adherents and Callistus brought the Roman community near the edge of schism. Under the Emperor Maximinus Thrax (235-238), who did not continue his immediate predecessor's tolerant policy towards Christianity, both Hippolytus and the Roman Bishop Pontianus were exiled to the Sardinian mines, where they died. The bodies of both were, in the middle of the century, brought back to Rome, where they were venerated as martyrs ever since. The martyrdom of Hippolytus and Pontianus is celebrated on the 13th of August.

Hippolytus, who wrote in Greek, was one of the most prolific writers of the early Western Church. His treatises on different Biblical writings - among others, the Song of Songs - are the earliest preserved Western commentaries on Holy Scripture. In his main work, Against all Heresies (formerly called Philosophoumena), he tries to show that a large number of Christian heresies can be traced to pagan philosophies. Many of his works are now lost or have been preserved only in translations into different foreign languages or in fragments. Having been brought into both Egypt and Syria at an early date, they were preserved mainly in the East.

The authorship of many of the writings transmitted under his name is disputed. This includes the so-called Apostolic Tradition , one of the earliest Church Orders and a document of great importance for the history of liturgy. Its many strictly Western and Roman traits confirm, however, the XX Century hypothesis that it is a work of Hippolytus. His Paschal Table and a III Century list of his writings are preserved in the form of engravings on an ancient statue, now found at the entrance of the Vatican Library. This statue, showing Hippolytus sitting on a chair, was found in Rome in the 16th century and underwent heavy restoration. Originally, it probably depicted a woman.

Anders Ekenberg