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St. Zephyrinus (199-217) 16th Pope

He consolidated the pontifical supremacy over the bishopsstzephyrinusi

He renewed the discipline of the Church toward adultery and immorality

Masses were said on top of the tombs.  This started the practice of placing saints’s relics into altars.

Bitter arguments over the relationship between the human and divine nature of Jesus appear

The Church’s first formal schism appears

Some Christians believed that Jesus became man, not God.(Monarchianism)

Some Christians believed that it was the Father who died on the cross (Modalism)

callist1

 

St. Callixtus (217-22) 17th Pope

He was a slave who suffered for his faith

There were large numbers of Christians throughout all the cities of the empire

In Rome Christianity appealed to the highest and lowest classes

Previously, it had been custom to exclude sacraments from any Christian who committed adultery and fornication

In order to adapt to growing Christianity, He decreed that those guilty of sexual crimes might return to the sacraments after due penance.

He ruled that early baptism was preferable

He claimed altering this custom fell under the binding and loosing authority given to Peter and his successors

He declared that within the Church that slave and free were equal

He declared that the laws of the Church regarding marriage take precedence over laws of the state

He was responsible for the excavation of the catacombs on the Via Appia

His opposition lead to the creation of the first anti-pope, Hippolytus

 

St. Urban I (222-230) 18th Popest-urban-i

He consented to the acquisition of property by the Church

He ordered that chalices and patens were to be made of gold and silver

Because of persecutions, Christians began to gather in the catacombs for the Liturgy

 

 

St. Pontian  (230-235) 19th Popestpontiani

He ordered chanting of the Psalms

He convened a synod condemning that heresy that all men (including the devil) will eventually be reconciled with God (Origenism)

 

 

 

 

St. Anterus (235-236) 20th Popestanterusi

He wrote many epistles promoting tightening hierarchical relationships with the Church during the growing persecution

He ordered that the acts and relics of the martyrs be stored in churches

Some Christians followed a deterministic and dualistic Gnostic belief that the soul is good, but that matter is evil (Manicheanism)

 

St. Fabian (236-250) 21st Popepope-st-fabian

He reorganized the local clergy into diaconates for the administration of social welfare.

He was responsible for founding several churches in Gaul

He originated the consecration of holy oils on Holy Thursday

Upon his election of pope, a dove landed on his head

The persecution in Rome gave rise to the hermetical life of the anchorites.

 

pope-cornelius

St. Cornelius (251-253) 22nd Pope

The fierce persecution of the Church prevented the election of a new pope after St. Fabian for 16 months

Novation, the second anti-pope, was elected

Novation introduced the heresy that those guilty of grave sins were permanently excluded and prevented from receiving absolution from the Church (Novationism)

Some Christians became lapsi by renouncing their faith.  These lapsi offered incense to the gods or emperor, and turned over their bible to the Roman authorities.(traditores)

Cornelius convened a synod to deal with these lapsi who wished to return to the Church

The lapsi could rejoin the Church after a severe penance. Lapsi priests and bisho
p would lose their priestly authority

 

St. Lucius (253-254) 23rd Popepope-saint-lucius-i-1

He declared those who stole Church

assets to excommunicated.

He continued the policies of St. Cornelius toward the Lapsi

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Stephen I (254-257) 24th Popesaint-stephen-i

The main event of this pontificate was the dispute of the re-baptized

He reasserted the traditional Roman Catholic teaching that baptism, done in the Trinitarian formula, is valid

He ordered that vestments used at Mass could not be worn as everyday wear

 

 

 

 

St. Sixtus II (257-258) 25th Popepope-sixtus-ii

For fear of imperial confiscation, He ordered the remaining Church treasures to be distributed among the poor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Dionysius (Denis) (259-268) 26th Popepope-st-denis

The new emperor issued an edict of toleration, giving the Church its legal existence

The churches and cemeteries were restored to Catholic ownership

He reorganized the parishes in Rome that were disrupted during the persecution

He was elected a year after his successor because of the persecution

 

St. Felix I (269-274) 27th Popestfelixi

He began the practice of burying martyrs under church altars

He ordered that Masses should be celebrated on the tombs of the martyrs

He asserted the divinity and humanity of Jesus

He asserted the two natures, divinity and humanity, in one person

Some Christians believed that Jesus was merely a man, but had acted as the Temple of the Holy Spirit, in whom the Divine Word dwelt through its operation.

steutychiani

St. Eutychian (275-283) 28th Pope

Manicheanism spread throughout the empire, becoming very powerful, arousing great concern

He instituted blessing of the crops

He ordered that martyrs be covered with a Dalmatic, a cloak worn by the Roman emperors.

The Dalmatic is a sacred vestment worn by the deacon at solemn religious functions

 

 

St. Caius (283-296) 29th Popem-caius-28

He was the grandson of the emperor

He ordered that all bishops must through several degrees of the clergy

The bloodiest persecution of Diocletian occurs

 

 

 

 

St. Marcellinus ( 296-304) 30th Popestmarcellinusi

He was lenient toward the lapsi, which angered the Donatists and Novationists

 

The Papacy: (200-300 A.D) Part 3

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