Pope Zephyrinus

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Pope Saint
Zephyrinus
Saintz05.jpg
Papacy began 199
Papacy ended 20 December 217
Predecessor Victor I
Successor Callixtus I
Personal details
Birth name Zepheniah
Born ???
Rome, Roman Empire
Died 20 December 217
Rome, Roman Empire
Sainthood
Feast day 20 December

Pope Zephyrinus (died 20 December 217) was bishop of Rome or pope from 199 to his death in 217.[1] He was born in Rome. His predecessor was Pope Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor, Pope Callixtus I.

Papacy

During the 17-year pontificate of Zephyrinus, the young Church endured severe persecution under the Emperor Severus until his death in the year 211. To quote Alban Butler, "this holy pastor was the support and comfort of the distressed flock".[2] According to St. Optatus, Zephyrinus also combated new heresies and apostasies, chief of which were Marcion, Praxeas, Valentine and the Montanists.[3] Eusebius insists that Zephyrinus fought vigorously against the blasphemies of the two Theodotuses, who in response treated him with contempt, but later called him the greatest defender of the divinity of Christ. Although he was not physically martyred for the faith, his suffering – both mental and spiritual – during his pontificate have earned him the title of martyr.[4]

Conflicts

During the reign of the Emperor Severus (193–211), relations with the young Christian Church deteriorated, and in 202 or 203 the edict of persecution appeared which forbade conversion to Christianity under the severest penalties.[1]

Zephyrinus's predecessor Pope Victor I had excommunicated Theodotus the Tanner for reviving a heresy that Christ only became God after his resurrection. Theodotus' followers formed a separate heretical community at Rome ruled by another Theodotus, the Money Changer, and Asclepiodotus. Natalius, who was tortured for his faith during the persecution, was persuaded by Asclepiodotus to become a bishop in their sect in exchange for a monthly stipend of 150 denarii. Natalius then reportedly experienced several visions warning him to abandon these heretics. According to an anonymous work entitled The Little Labyrinth and quoted by Eusebius, Natalius was whipped a whole night by an angel; the next day he donned sackcloth and ashes, and weeping bitterly threw himself at the feet of Zephyrinus.[5]

Feast day

A feast of St Zephyrinus, Pope and Martyr, held on 26 August, was inserted in the General Roman Calendar in the 13th century, but was removed in the 1969 revision, since he was not a martyr and 26 August is not the anniversary of his death,[6] which is 20 December, the day under which he is now mentioned in the Roman Martyrology.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kirsch, Johann Peter (1912). "Pope St. Zephyrinus" in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ↑ A. Butler, Lives of the Saints Vol VIII, 1866
  3. ↑ Optatus, De Schismate 1,1
  4. ↑ Berti, Sæc 3. Diss. 1.t. 2 p 158
  5. ↑ Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 5.28.9-12; translated by G.A. Williamson, Eusebius: The History of the Church (Harmonsworth: Penguin, 1965), pp. 236f
  6. ↑ "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 136
  7. ↑ "Martyrologium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)

References

  • Rendina, Claudio, The Popes' Histories and Secrets (2002)
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Titles of the Great Christian Church
Preceded by Bishop of Rome
Pope
199–217		 Succeeded by
Callixtus I
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