Pope Callixtus I ( Greek: Κάλλιστος), also called Callistus I, was the bishop of Rome (according to Sextus Julius Africanus) from to his death or 223.Chapman, John (1908). "Pope Callistus I" in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company. He lived during the reigns of the Roman emperors

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 13 March 222), better known by his posthumous nicknames Elagabalus ( ) and Heliogabalus ( ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short r ...

and

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain co ...

. Eusebius and the Liberian catalogue list his episcopate as having lasted five years (217–222). In 217, when Callixtus followed

Zephyrinus Zephyrinus is a Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the ...

as Bishop of Rome, he started to admit into the Church converts from sects or schisms. He was killed for being Christian and is venerated as a saint and martyr by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

(the patron saint of cemetery workers).

Life

Callixtus I's contemporaries and enemies,

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

and

Hippolytus of Rome Hippolytus of Rome ( , ; Romanized: , – ) was a Bishop of Rome and one of the most important second–third centuries Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communitie ...

, the author of '' Philosophumena'', relate that Callixtus, as a young slave from Rome, was put in charge of collected funds by his master Carpophorus, funds which were given as alms by other Christians for the care of widows and orphans; Callixtus lost the funds and fled from the city, but was caught near Portus. According to the tale, Callixtus jumped overboard to avoid capture but was rescued and taken back to his master. He was released at the request of the creditors, who hoped he might be able to recover some of the money, but was rearrested for fighting in a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

when he tried to borrow money or collect debts from some

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. ''Philosophumena'' claims that, denounced as a Christian, Callixtus was sentenced to work in the mines of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. He was released with other Christians at the request of Hyacinthus, a

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

presbyter, who represented Marcia, the favourite mistress of Emperor

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

. At this time his health was so weakened that his fellow Christians sent him to

Antium Antium was an Ancient history, ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture (11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people unti ...

to recuperate and he was given a pension by

Pope Victor I Pope Victor I (died 199) was a Roman African prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Rome in the late second century. The dates of his tenure are uncertain, but one source states he became pope in 189 and gives the year of h ...

. In 199, Callixtus was ordained a deacon by

Pope Zephyrinus Pope Zephyrinus was the bishop of Rome from the year 199 until his death on 20 December 217. He was born in Rome, and succeeded Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor, Callixtus I. He is known fo ...

and appointed superintendent of the Christian cemetery on the Appian Way. That place, which is to this day called the '' Catacombs of St. Callixtus'', became the burial-ground of many popes and was the first land property owned by the Church. Emperor Julian the Apostate, writing to a pagan priest, said: In the third century, nine bishops of Rome were interred in the Catacomb of Callixtus, in the part now called the ''Capella dei Papi''. These catacombs were rediscovered by the archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi in 1849. In 217, when Callixtus followed Zephyrinus as Bishop of Rome, he started to admit into the Church converts from sects or schisms who had not done penance. He fought with success the heretics, and established the practice of absolution of all sins, including adultery and murder. Hippolytus found Callixtus's policy of extending forgiveness of sins to cover sexual transgressions shockingly lax and denounced him for allowing believers to regularize liaisons with their own slaves by recognizing them as valid marriages. As a consequence also of doctrinal differences, Hippolytus was elected as a rival bishop of Rome, the first antipope. The Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere was a '' titulus'' of which Callixtus was the patron. In an apocryphal anecdote in the collection of imperial biographies called the '' Augustan History'', the spot on which he had built an oratory was claimed by tavern keepers, but Alexander Severus decided that the worship of any god was better than a tavern, hence the structure's name. The 4th-century

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

of ''Ss Callixti et Iuliani'' was rebuilt in the 12th century by Pope Innocent II and rededicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The 8th-century ''Chiesa di San Callisto'' is close by, with its beginnings apparently as a shrine on the site of his martyrdom, which is attested in the 4th-century ''Depositio martyrum'' and so is likely to be historical.

Death

It is possible that Callixtus was martyred around 222 or 223, perhaps during a popular uprising, perhaps by being thrown down a well. According to the apocryphal ''Acts of Saint Callixtus'', Asterius, a priest of Rome, recovered the body of Callixtus after it had been tossed into a well and buried Callixtus' body at night.Sabine Baring-Gould, ''The Lives of the Saints''. Vol. 2. (J. Hodges, 1877). Digitized 6 June 2007. Page 506. Asterius was arrested for this action by the prefect Alexander and then killed by being thrown off a bridge into the Tiber River. Callixtus was buried in the cemetery of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way and his anniversary is given by the 4th-century ''Depositio Martirum'' and by subsequent martyrologies on 14 October. The Catholic Church celebrates his optional memorial on 14 October. His relics were transferred in the 9th century to Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Citations

References

External links

St. Callistus I
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Callixtus 01, Pope 223 deaths 3rd-century archbishops 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century Romans Ancient Christians involved in controversies Burials at Santa Maria in Trastevere Christian slaves and freedmen Papal saints Popes Year of birth unknown 3rd-century popes

Life

Death

See also

Citations

References

Further reading

External links