Pope Saint Pius I | |
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Bishop of Rome | |
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See | Holy See |
Papacy began | c. 140 |
Papacy ended | c. 155 |
Predecessor | Hyginus |
Successor | Anicetus |
Personal details | |
Birth name | Pius |
Born | c. late 1st century Aquileia, Italy |
Died | c. 155 Rome, Roman Empire |
Sainthood | |
Feast day | 11 July |
Other popes named Pius |
Pope Pius I (died c. 155) was the Bishop of Rome from c. 140 to his death c. 154, [1] according to the Annuario Pontificio . His dates are listed as 142 or 146 to 157 or 161, respectively. [2]
He is considered to have opposed both the Valentinians and Gnostics during his papacy. He is considered a saint by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church [3] with a feast day in 11 July, but it is unclear if he died as a martyr.
Pius is believed to have been born at Aquileia, in Northern Italy, during the late 1st century. [4] His father was an Italian [5] called "Rufinus", who was also a native of Aquileia according to the Liber Pontificalis . [6]
According to the 2nd century Muratorian Canon [7] and the Liberian Catalogue , [8] that he was the brother of Hermas, author of the text known as The Shepherd of Hermas .
The writer of the later text identifies himself as a former slave. This has led to speculation that both Hermas and Pius were freedmen. However Hermas' statement that he was a slave may just mean that he belonged to a low-ranking plebeian family. [9]
According to Catholic tradition, St Pius I governed the Church in the middle of the 2nd century during the reigns of the Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. [10] He is held to be the ninth successor of Saint Peter, [1] who decreed that Easter should only be kept on a Sunday. Although credited with ordering the publication of the Liber Pontificalis, [11] compilation of that document was not started before the beginning of the 6th century. [12] He is also said to have built one of the oldest churches in Rome, Santa Pudenziana.
Saint Justin taught Christian doctrine in Rome during the theoretical pontificate of St Pius I but the account of his martyrdom indicates there was no Roman bishop present there. The heretics Valentinus, Cerdon, and Marcion visited Rome during that period. Catholic apologists see this as an argument for the primacy of the Roman See during the 2nd century. [11] Pope Pius I is believed to have opposed the Valentinians and Gnostics under Marcion, whom he excommunicated. [13]
There is some conjecture that he was a martyr in Rome, a conjecture that entered earlier editions of the Roman Breviary . The study that had produced the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar stated that there were no grounds for his consideration as a martyr, [14] and he is not presented as such in the Roman Martyrology . [15]
Pius I's feast day is 11 July. In the Tridentine Calendar it was given the rank of "Simple" and celebrated as the feast of a martyr. The rank of the feast was reduced to a Commemoration in the 1955 General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII and the General Roman Calendar of 1960. Though no longer mentioned in the General Roman Calendar, Saint Pius I may now, according to the rules in the present-day Roman Missal, be celebrated everywhere on his feast day as a Memorial, unless in some locality an obligatory celebration is assigned to that day. [16]
Antipope Felix, an archdeacon of Rome, was installed as Pope in AD 355 after the Emperor Constantius II banished the reigning Pope, Liberius, for refusing to subscribe to a sentence of condemnation against Saint Athanasius.
Pope Alexander I was the Bishop of Rome from c. 107 to his death c. 115. The Holy See's Annuario Pontificio (2012) identifies him as a Roman who reigned from 108 or 109 to 116 or 119. Some believe he suffered martyrdom under the Roman Emperor Trajan or Hadrian, but this is improbable.
Pope Miltiades, also known as Melchiades the African, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 311 to his death in 314. It was during his pontificate that Emperor Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan (313), giving Christianity legal status within the Roman Empire. The Pope also received the palace of Empress Fausta where the Lateran Palace, the papal seat and residence of the papal administration, would be built. At the Lateran Council, during the schism with the Church of Carthage, Miltiades condemned the rebaptism of apostatised bishops and priests, teaching of Donatus Magnus.
Pope Sixtus II was the Pope or Bishop of Rome from 31 August 257 until his death on 6 August 258. He was martyred along with seven deacons, including Lawrence of Rome during the persecution of the Catholic Church by Emperor Valerian. According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was born in Greece and was a philosopher; however, this is uncertain, and is disputed by modern western historians arguing that the authors of Liber Pontificalis confused him with that of the contemporary author Xystus, who was a Greek student of Pythagoreanism. He restored the relations with the African and Eastern churches which had been broken off by his predecessor on the question of heretical baptism raised by the heresy Novatianism.
Pope Felix I was the Bishop of Rome or Pope from 5 January 269 to his death in 274.
Pope Soter was the Bishop of Rome from c. 167 to his death c. 174. According to the Annuario Pontificio, the dates may have ranged from 162–168 to 170–177. He was born in Fondi, Campania, today Lazio region, Italy. 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. His name, from Greek Σωτήριος from σωτήρ "saviour", would be his baptismal name, as his lifetime predates the tradition of adopting papal names.
Pope Lucius I was the Bishop of Rome from 25 June 253 to his death in 254. He was banished soon after his consecration, but gained permission to return. He was mistakenly classified as a martyr in the persecution of Valerian, which did not begin until after Lucius' death.
Pope Telesphorus was the 8th Bishop of Rome of the Catholic Church from c. 126 to his death c. 137, during the reigns of Roman Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He was of Greek ancestry and born in Terranova da Sibari, Calabria, Italy. The Carmelites venerate Telesphorus as a patron saint of the order since some sources depict him as a hermit living on Mount Carmel. He is also a Martyr according to the ancient testimony of Irenaeus.
Pope Anicetus was the Bishop of Rome from c. 157 to his death in 168. According to the Annuario Pontificio, the start of his papacy may have been 153. Anicetus actively opposed Gnosticism and Marcionism. He welcomed Polycarp of Smyrna to Rome, to discuss the controversy over the date for the celebration of Easter.
Pope Anacletus, also known as Cletus, was the third Bishop of Rome, following Saint Peter and Pope Linus. Anacletus served as pope between c. 79 and his death, c. 92. Cletus was a Roman, who during his tenure as Pope, is known to have ordained a number of priests and is traditionally credited with setting up about twenty-five parishes in Rome. Although the precise dates of his pontificate are uncertain, he "...died a martyr, perhaps about 91". Cletus is mentioned in the Roman Canon of the mass; his feast day is April 26.
Pope Zephyrinus was Bishop of Rome or pope from 199 to his death in 217. 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. He is known for combatting heresies and defending the divinity of Christ.
Pope Marcellinus was the Bishop of Rome or Pope from 30 June 296 to his death in 304. According to the Liberian Catalogue, he was a Roman, the son of a certain Projectus. His predecessor was Pope Caius.
Cyriacus, sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the persecution of Diocletian. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them martyrs, who bear this name, of whom only seven are honoured by a specific mention of their names in the Roman Martyrology.
Saints Primus and Felician (Felicianus) were brothers who suffered martyrdom about the year 297 during the Diocletian persecution. The "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" gives under June 9 the names of Primus and Felician who were buried at the fourteenth milestone of the Via Nomentana.
Felicitas of Rome, also anglicized as Felicity, is a saint numbered among the Christian martyrs. Apart from her name, the only thing known for certain about this martyr is that she was buried in the Cemetery of Maximus, on the Via Salaria on a 23 November. However, a legend presents her as the mother of the seven martyrs whose feast is celebrated on 10 July. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates their martyrdom on 25 January.
Rufina and Secunda were Roman virgin-martyrs and Christian saints. Their feast day is celebrated on 10 July.
Saint Hermes, born in Greece, died in Rome as a martyr in 120, is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. His name appears in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum as well as entries in the Depositio Martyrum (354). There was a large basilica over his tomb that was built around 600 by Pope Pelagius I. It was restored by Pope Adrian I. A catacomb in the Salarian Way bears his name.
Felicissimus and Agapitus were two of the six deacons of Pope Sixtus II who were martyred with him on or about 6 August 258, Felicissimus and Agapitus on the same day as the Pope. The seventh deacon, Lawrence of Rome, was martyred on 10 August of the same year.
Saint Boniface of Tarsus was, according to legend, executed for being a Christian in the year 307 at Tarsus, where he had gone from Rome in order to bring back to his mistress Aglaida relics of the martyrs.
The Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ was a feast included in the General Roman Calendar from 1849 to 1969.
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Titles of the Great Christian Church | ||
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Preceded by Hyginus | Bishop of Rome Pope 140–154 | Succeeded by Anicetus |