Pope Pius I

Pius I
Pope Saint; Pius I
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

Last updated July 03, 2019

Pope Pius I (died c. 155) is said to have been 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]

The Annuario Pontificio is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists all the popes to date and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also gives complete lists with contact information of the cardinals and Catholic bishops throughout the world, the dioceses, the departments of the Roman Curia, the Holy See's diplomatic missions abroad, the embassies accredited to the Holy See, the headquarters of religious institutes, certain academic institutions, and other similar information. The index includes, along with all the names in the body of the book, those of all priests who have been granted the title of "Monsignor". As the title suggests, the red-covered yearbook, compiled by the Central Statistics Office of the Church and published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana, is mostly in Italian.

Early life

Pius is believed to have been born at Aquileia, in Northern Italy, during the late 1st century.^[3] His father was an Italian^[4] called "Rufinus", who was also a native of Aquileia according to the Liber Pontificalis .^[5]

Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 kilometres (6 mi) from the sea, on the river Natiso, the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small, but it was large and prominent in Antiquity as one of the world's largest cities with a population of 100,000 in the 2nd century AD. and is one of the main archeological sites of Northern Italy.

The Liber Pontificalis is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the Liber Pontificalis stopped with Pope Adrian II (867–872) or Pope Stephen V (885–891), but it was later supplemented in a different style until Pope Eugene IV (1431–1447) and then Pope Pius II (1458–1464). Although quoted virtually uncritically from the 8th to 18th centuries, the Liber Pontificalis has undergone intense modern scholarly scrutiny. The work of the French priest Louis Duchesne, and of others has highlighted some of the underlying redactional motivations of different sections, though such interests are so disparate and varied as to render improbable one popularizer's claim that it is an "unofficial instrument of pontifical propaganda."

According to the 2nd century Muratorian Canon ^[6] and the Liberian Catalogue ,^[7] that he was the brother of Hermas, author of the text known as The Shepherd of Hermas .

The Muratorian fragment, also known as the Muratorian Canon or Canon Muratori, is a copy of perhaps the oldest known list of most of the books of the New Testament. The fragment, consisting of 85 lines, is a 7th-century Latin manuscript bound in a 7th or 8th century codex from the library of Columbanus's monastery at Bobbio Abbey; it contains features suggesting it is a translation from a Greek original written about 170 or as late as the 4th century. Both the degraded condition of the manuscript and the poor Latin in which it was written have made it difficult to translate. The beginning of the fragment is missing, and it ends abruptly. The fragment consists of all that remains of a section of a list of all the works that were accepted as canonical by the churches known to its original compiler. It was discovered in the Ambrosian Library in Milan by Father Ludovico Antonio Muratori (1672–1750), the most famous Italian historian of his generation, and published in 1740.

In compiling the history of the Early Christian Church, the Liberian Catalogue, which was part of the illuminated manuscript known as the Chronography of 354, is an essential document, for it consists of a list of the popes, designated bishops of Rome, ending with Pope Liberius, hence its name and approximate date. The list gives the lengths of their respective episcopates, the corresponding consular dates, and the names of the reigning emperors. In many cases there are other details. "The collection of tracts of which this forms a part was edited in 354" (CE). It now survives only in a copy.

Hermas was a well-to-do freedman and earnest Christian, who lived in Ancient Rome. He was a brother of Pius, Bishop of Rome about the middle of the 2nd century. Some later writers confuse him with the Hermas mentioned in Romans 16:14. Hermas the freedman was the character and, by some estimations, the author of the work titled The Shepherd of Hermas, which, in the early Church, was sometimes classed among the canonical "Scriptures".

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.^[8]

Slavery is any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing individuals to own, buy and sell other individuals, as a de jure form of property. A slave is unable to withdraw unilaterally from such an arrangement and works without remuneration. Many scholars now use the term chattel slavery to refer to this specific sense of legalised, de jure slavery. In a broader sense, however, the word slavery may also refer to any situation in which an individual is de facto forced to work against their own will. Scholars also use the more generic terms such as unfree labour or forced labour to refer to such situations. However, and especially under slavery in broader senses of the word, slaves may have some rights and protections according to laws or customs.

Pontificate

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.^[9] 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,^[10] compilation of that document was not started before the beginning of the 6th century.^[11] He is also said to have built one of the oldest churches in Rome, Santa Pudenziana.

Antoninus Pius, also known as Antoninus, was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was one of the Five Good Emperors in the Nerva–Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii.

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers traditionally known as the Five Good Emperors, and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire. He was also consul in 140, 145, and 161.

Saint Peter, also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, Cephas, or Peter the Apostle, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, and the first leader of the early Church.

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.^[10] Pope Pius I is believed to have opposed the Valentinians and Gnostics under Marcion, whom he excommunicated.^[12]

Justin Martyr was an early Christian apologist, and is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. He was martyred, alongside some of his students, and is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

A catechism is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult converts. Catechisms are doctrinal manuals – often in the form of questions followed by answers to be memorised – a format that has been used in non-religious or secular contexts as well. According to Norman DeWitt, the early Christians appropriated this practice from the Epicureans, a school whose founder Epicurus had instructed to keep summaries of the teachings for easy learning. The term catechumen refers to the designated recipient of the catechetical work or instruction. In the Catholic Church, catechumens are those who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. Traditionally, they would be placed separately during Holy Mass from those who had been baptized, and would be dismissed from the liturgical assembly before the Profession of Faith (Creed) and General Intercessions.

Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of such claims or beliefs. Heresy is distinct from both apostasy, which is the explicit renunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is an impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.

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,^[13] and he is not presented as such in the Roman Martyrology .^[14]

Feast day

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.^[15]

Notes

1 2 "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Pius I". newadvent.org. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
↑ "Annuario Pontificio" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012 ISBN 978-88-209-8722-0), P. 8*
↑ "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," edited by Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O.Cist., Ph.D., New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1955, p. 263
↑ Platina, Anthony F. D'Elia (2008). Lives of the Popes: Antiquity, Volume 1. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674028197.
↑ Ed. Duchesne, I, 132.
↑ Ed. Preuschen, "Analecta, 1," Tubingen, 1910.
↑ Ed. Duchesne, "Liber Pontificalis, I, 5."
↑ Catholic University of America (1967). New Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11. New York : McGraw-Hill. p. 393.
↑ "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," p.263
1 2 "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," p. 263
↑ "Dictionnaire historique de la papauté", Philippe Levillain, Fayard 1994, p. 1042–1043"
↑ "Dictionary of Saints" (First Image Books Edition, April 2005 ISBN 0-385-51520-0), p. 505
↑ "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 129
↑ "Martyrologium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
↑ General Instruction of the Roman Missal Archived 2008-07-20 at the Wayback Machine , 355 c

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References

"Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," edited by Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O.Cist., Ph.D., New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1955, pp 511

Titles of the Great Christian Church
Preceded by Hyginus	Bishop of Rome Pope 140–154	Succeeded by Anicetus

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[newadvent.org-1] 1 2 "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Pius I". newadvent.org. Retrieved 2015-07-25.

[2] "Annuario Pontificio" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012 ISBN 978-88-209-8722-0), P. 8*

[3] "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," edited by Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O.Cist., Ph.D., New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1955, p. 263

[4] Platina, Anthony F. D'Elia (2008). Lives of the Popes: Antiquity, Volume 1. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674028197.

[5] Ed. Duchesne, I, 132.

[6] Ed. Preuschen, "Analecta, 1," Tubingen, 1910.

[7] Ed. Duchesne, "Liber Pontificalis, I, 5."

[8] Catholic University of America (1967). New Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 11. New York : McGraw-Hill. p. 393.

[9] "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," p.263

[Saints_p._263-10] 1 2 "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," p. 263

[11] "Dictionnaire historique de la papauté", Philippe Levillain, Fayard 1994, p. 1042–1043"

[12] "Dictionary of Saints" (First Image Books Edition, April 2005 ISBN 0-385-51520-0), p. 505

[13] "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 129

[14] "Martyrologium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)

[15] General Instruction of the Roman Missal Archived 2008-07-20 at the Wayback Machine , 355 c