Callixtus I

Pope Callixtus I (died circa 223), also called Callistus I, was the bishop of from c. 218 to his death c. 223.[2] He lived during the reigns of the Roman Emper- ors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus. He was martyred for his Christian faith and is venerated as a by the .

1 Life

His contemporaries and enemies, Tertullian and the author of Philosophumena, relate that Callixtus, as a young slave, 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 Rome, 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 when he tried to borrow money or collect debts from some Jews.[2] Philosophumena claims that, denounced as a Christian, Callixtus was sentenced to work in the mines of . He was released with other Christians at the request of Hyacinthus, a eunuch presbyter, who represented Marcia, the favourite mistress of Emperor Commodus. At this time his health was so weakened that his fellow Chris- tians sent him to Antium to recuperate and he was given a pension by .[2] Callixtus was the deacon to whom en- trusted the burial chambers along the . In the third century, nine Bishops of Rome were interred in the , in the part now called the Capella dei Papi. These catacombs were rediscovered by the ar- chaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi in 1849. When Callixtus followed Zephyrinus as Bishop of Rome, Statue of Pope Callixtus I, Cathedral of Reims he started to admit into the church converts from sects or schisms who had not done penance.[3] Hippolytus found Callixtus’s policy of extending forgiveness of sins to cover anecdote in the collection of imperial biographies called sexual transgressions shockingly lax and denounced him the Augustan History, the spot on which he had built an for allowing believers to regularize liaisons with their own [4][5] oratory was claimed by tavern keepers, but Alexander slaves by recognizing them as valid marriages. As a Severus decided that the worship of any god was bet- consequence also of doctrinal differences, Hippolytus was [6] ter than a tavern, hence the structure’s name. The 4th- elected as a rival bishop of Rome, the first . century basilica of Ss Callixti et Iuliani was rebuilt in the The Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere was a titulus 12th century by Pope Innocent II and rededicated to the of which Callixtus was the patron. In an apocryphal Blessed Mary. The 8th-century Chiesa di San Cal-

1 2 5 EXTERNAL LINKS

listo is close by, with its beginnings apparently as a shrine 5 External links on the site of his martyrdom, which is attested in the 4th- century Depositio martyrum and so is likely to be histori- • St. Calixtus, or Callistus, Pope, Martyr cal. • St. Callistus I

2 Death

It is possible that Callixtus was martyred around 222 or 223, perhaps during a popular uprising, but the legend that he was thrown down a well has no historical founda- tion, though the church does contain an ancient well. Ac- cording 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.[7] Asterius was arrested for this action by the prefect Alexander and then killed by being thrown off a bridge into the Tiber River.[7] Callixtus was honoured as a martyr in Todi, Italy, on 14 August. He 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 on 14 October. The Roman Catholic Church celebrates his optional memorial on 14 Octo- ber. His were translated in the 9th century to Santa Maria in Trastevere.[8]

3 Notes

[1] Jones, Tery M. “Pope Saint Callistus I”. .SQPN.com. Star Quest Publication Network. Retrieved 14 October 2010.

[2] Chapman, John (1908). “Pope Callistus I” in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Com- pany.

[3] Philosophoumena IX.7

[4] Pagels, Elaine (1979). The Gnostic Gospels. Weidenfeld and Nicholson. p. 108.

[5] Hippolytus. Refutation of all heresies. Book 9 Ch. 7.

[6] “Saint Hippolytus of Rome”. Encyclopedia Britannica.

[7] Sabine Baring-Gould, The Lives of the Saints. Vol. 2. (J. Hodges, 1877). Digitized 6 June 2007. Page 506.

[8] "Pope Callistus I". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.

4 References

• Kelly, J. N. D. (2006). Oxford Dictionary of the (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 13–4. ISBN 0198614330. 3

6 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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