On the Day August 13 236AD

In Death, Hippolytus Returns Home

Khen Lim




A cast of the statue of Hippolytus at the Pio-Christian Museum, Vatican Museums. The original third-century statue is presently at the entrance hall of the Vatican Apostolic Library (Image source: christchurchwindsor.ca)

In a time when Christians were persecuted and indiscriminately killed for their faith, believers from the City of Rome called these martyrs, ‘witnesses’ and on this day in 236 AD, the body of Hippolytus (170-236AD) came home after two years of exile.

Hippolytus was exiled by the persecutory Emperor Maximinus Thrax to the island of Sardinia to be a slave in the mines. There he perished possibly in the mines but because he had probably reconciled under Pope Fabian (236-250AD), his body could be brought home for burial and following a funeral service conducted by Justin the Confessor, he was interred in a cemetery somewhere along Via Tiburtina.

Hippolytus was regarded as the most important theologian during the third-century Early Church days in Rome although much of his works went unnoticed not only because his withering criticisms of the bishops of Rome led to his writings being forgotten but also because they were written in Greek and those in the West had simply forgotten the language. Of these, his work on heresy was notable. Other than his criticism of the Gnostics, it was his view that the Roman Church’s claim of papal infallibility (ex cathedra) that he considered heretical.

Hippolytus’ credibility came from high places as one can trace his apostolic succession all the way back to the apostle John, making him a ‘great-grandson’ of sorts. He was discipled by Irenaeus who himself was under the tutelage of Polycarp who then was either discipled by or had personally known the apostle himself, making his bishopric indisputable and legitimate.

Bishop Callixtus (Image source: alchetron.com)

Despite his infamy as the first antipope, the Roman Church accorded him sainthood from the fourth century onwards. His ‘ill-reputation’ suggests, of course, that he was ‘illegally’ elected and the story was that the Roman public elected him Bishop of Rome over one who was already in office, that was, Bishop Callixtus (217-222AD). Hippolytus’ outspokenness over the wrongdoings, cruelties and doctrinal errancy in the Church was one thing but what really made him very popular was his anger towards Callixtus’ absolution of Christians who committed grave sins including adultery.

This public support obviously gave him the impetus to continue railing against Callixtus’ successor, Pope Urban (222-230AD), and later, Pope Pontian (230-235AD). By then too, it is said that he was already the leader representing the interests of the Greek-speaking Christians living in Rome and in fact, was instrumental in how the Roman house-churches were modelled after the Greco-based philosophical schools in which much was centred on a compelling teacher.

Ultimately his opposition proved to be problematic enough that it became untenable for him to continue on in Rome. Thereafter, it was Emperor Thrax who exiled him together with Pontian to Sardinia.

Much emphasis has been paid to Hippolytus’ expertise in matters of heresy and it’s understandable because his weight against ex cathedra was instrumental in how so many scholars in 1870 had also rejected the Vatican’s call for popes to be infallible. But Hippolytus was also an important contributor to the development of Christian eschatology. 

A case in point is his Treatise on Christ and Antichrist (go here for the online version and purchase it here) – written around 202 to 211AD – where he offers his interpretation of biblical prophecies such as the case with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in which he claims that following the days of the Roman Empire, “democracies are shown.” He also proffers his insights into Peter’s and Paul’s deaths as well as Paul’s encounter with a lion and a short dialogue between Judas and Jesus. He even justifies how Christ’s birthday falls on December 25.

Irenaeus (Image source: thecatholiccatalogue.com)

Hippolytus’ thoughts on eschatological matters are said to be substantially influenced by Irenaeus who discipled him. However, unlike his mentor, his focus was on the significance of prophecy for the Church during his own time. As scriptural commentary, Hippolytus’ Treatise on Christ and Antichrist is not only the oldest to have survived but he offers an extraordinary Christologically-based interpretation of the prophet Daniel’s paralleling prophecies (Dan 2,7,8) in reference to the Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks and Romans. 

In it, he said that Rome would be carved up into ten kingdoms and these would be followed by the dreaded Antichrist who would come to oppress the saints. Next will come Christ’s Second Advent, the resurrection of the righteous, then the destruction of the Antichrist before the coming of Judgement and the incineration of the wicked.

For many, the most extraordinary claim Hippolytus made was the calculation of the date for the Second Advent. From his understanding, presumably influenced by Irenaeus, of how God created all things in six days and that each of these days symbolise a thousand years, he reasoned that in six thousand years (from the time of Creation), the end will come. Calculating from his time, that would be 260 years forward, which turned out to be 500AD. It is said that he based his calculation on the Septuagint, which claimed that the world began around 5500BC.

Hundreds of years following his death from exile, in 1551, labourers working within the surrounding areas of the ancient Church of St Lawrence on Via Tiburtina dug out a marble statue featuring a seated bishop wearing a pallium to signify full episcopal authority. At the back of the statue was an exhaustive list of Hippolytus’ written works. 

To Pope Pius IV, there was no denying that it was none other than of Hippolytus, Bishop of Pontus.