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Episode XVIII- Pope Urban I

There is very little known about the life of Pope Urban.  We do know, however, that he was born a Roman and was the son of a man named Pontius.  This name is also recorded as Pontianus in other texts. 

As far as contributions to the Church during his reign as Pontiff, Urban I is credited with ordering all of the sacred vessels and patens to be made of silver.  These were apparently made for some of the surrounding churches during his papacy.  At this time in Church history, silver and glass were favorite materials with which the Church melted, shaped and etched it’s impressions onto. 

In addition to his work with the sacred vessels, Urban was known for having a very humble disposition towards the act of people’s donations to the Church, now known as tithing.  Here is a quote regarding his opinion on donations to the Church, “The gifts of the faithful are offered to the Lord can only be used for ecclesiastical purposes, for the common good of the Christian community, and for the poor, for they are the consecrated gifts of the faithful, the atonement offering of sinners, and the patrimony of the needy.”

Pope Urban has been credited with the conversion of many souls to the Christian faith.  One of his most famous converts was a man named Valerian who was the husband of St. Cecilia.  Also of note, we can now track to the day the beginning and end of the Popes reigns, as these dates were now being recorded by Church historians whose records have been preserved and verified.  Therefore, the official beginning of Urban I’s papacy is October 14, 222.

Though the schism between the Christian Church and Hippolytus remained, we do not know of any exact details surrounding the circumstances of their relationship.  We do know that Hippolytus published a book called the Philosophumen, which was solely written to attack Pope Calixtus.  Well, obviously Hippolytus was not looking to make amends with the Church, and Urban was as cold as predecessor Calixtus was in dealing with him.

For the most part, there was relative peace between the Church and Roman Empire during Urban’s reign.  Emperor Severus had managed to keep his bloodthirsty subjects in check.  Severus himself even had a statue of Jesus in his statue collection of Gods.  Severus’ relations with the Christians went deeper than this, however.  His mother, Julia Mamea, had befriended a Christian writer by the name of Origen.  Severus himself even decided in favor of Christians in a lawsuit regarding land between Christians and a tavern keeper.  Severus ultimately stated that it was better to have God worshipped on the land as opposed to a tavern being built so people could get drunk.

Though we do not know of the circumstances of his death, Pope Urban I is traditionally credited with being a martyr.  Scholars are now starting to argue, however, that he may have indeed died of natural causes.  I have to admit that I, too, struggle with believing he was martyred in such times of peace between the Church and Roman Empire.  There is a legend of his death which states we was beheaded after he toppled a Roman statue of an idol simply be praying.  He is believed to have died in the year 230, and his feast day is celebrated on May 25.  He is buried in the Cemetery of St. Calixtus.    

While we do not know of the exact circumstances of his death, it is possible that the artistic impressions of Pope Urban may provide us with clues to how he may have died.  Apparently, he is often depicted sitting down, wearing the papal tiara and holding a sword pointed down.  You can go to the blog to see a picture of this type of portrayal.  He has also been featured standing up in his papal garb while holding a bible and grapes.  Pope Urban is often associated with grapes, and I am not sure if this is some symbolic reference or if he just really liked to eat grapes.  Interestingly, Pope Urban has also been featured being beheaded or scourged at the stake. Though these latter impressions are less common, they provide some insight into how he may have died.

Episode XVI- Pope Calixtus

Calixtus was a native Roman, the son of a man named Domitius.  He was born in a section of the city originally called Ravennatius.  Ravennatius later became known as Trastevere, and is situated on the west bank of the Tiber River that runs through Rome.  This is south of what is modern day Vatican City.  Fishing was a popular occupation in this region, as well as being the home to many Jewish and Syrian immigrants to the area.  Eventually, several Roman emperors decided to build private residences in this area.  Two very important churches were also built there as well.

Today, Trastevere is more of a tourist spot due to its historical importance.  It’s narrow, cobblestoned streets are lined with pubs and restaurants as well as many homes built in the medieval style of architecture. Trastevere is also home to multiple universities.  With its mix of young students and wonderful history Trastevere became somewhat of a hotspot for famous artists and musicians during the 1960’s and 70’s.

So Calixtus was born into this unique section of Rome; however life was not easy right from the beginning.  It appears that Calixtus was born into slavery, and was the slave of a man named Aurelius Carpoforus.  Corpoforus was a relative of Emperor Commodus who reigned from 180-192, during the reigns of Popes Eleutherius and Victor.  Although Calixtus had the unfortunate fate of being born a slave, he was blessed to have been born a slave with a Christian master.  Carpoforus eventually converted Calixtus to Christianity and freed him. 

Carpoforus was generally a good man, and invested in the future of his now former slave Calixtus.  Upon his release from slavery Carpoforus gave Calixtus money to open up a money changing shop near what was then called the “public swimming pools” but what later came to be known as the public baths.  Unfortunately, Calixtus allowed evil to creep into his heart and eventually he squandered the money lent to him by Carpoforus.  It is likely he may have even stolen some of the money.

Well, Calixtus had obviously worn out his welcome in Rome so he decided to head out of town on a ship.  Soon after, however, Carpoforus caught up with Calixtus on the ship.  We are not sure if he did this to escape capture or possibly commit suicide, but Calixtus jumped off of the ship he was being chased by Carpoforus on.  But just before he could make it to the water, two boatmen on the ship caught Calixtus by his hair and dragged him back on board.  Carpoforus was disappointed in his former slave, and took Calixtus back to his land to work on his gristmill until all of the money Calixtus had taken was repaid.

Not long after, however, Carpoforus let Calixtus go and relieved him of his debt.  It is likely that Carpoforus succumbed to the pressures of other Christians in the community who did not agree with the punishment; however we shouldn’t rule out the likelihood that Calixtus might have talked his way out of the situation as well.  After he was freed by Carpoforus, Calixtus returned to the banking position he had prior to the whole incident.  Problems arose again for Calixtus however, when one day he was roaming the streets looking for a Jewish customer who owed him money from a loan that Calixtus had paid out.  Calixtus found his customer at the synagogue.  Instead of waiting for the customer to finish his religious practices for the day and confronting him afterwards, Calixtus decided to go into the synagogue to confront the debtor.  Well, this was a huge no-no for the Jews, and Calixtus was jailed for this act.  Calixtus was found guilty for his transgression of interrupting a religious ceremony.  He was whipped and sentenced to hard labor in the salt mines of Sardinia.  His work at the mines was done on a hand mill, which was a job generally reserved for slaves.

Calixtus landed himself in Sardinia during the papacy of Eleutherius, but it was during Victor’s reign that Calixtus found himself released after the pleas of Commodus’ mistress Marcia.  Pope Victor was not impressed with Calixtus, however, and when Calixtus returned to Rome to inquire about how he could help the Pope, Victor gave him a rather mundane task out of the area, in a place called Anzio.  Anzio is about thirty miles away from Rome.  Victor did this most likely just to be rid of Calixtus.  It should be noted, however, that other sources have identified the reason for Calixtus being sent away was because his health had deteriorated so much while working in the mines of Sardinia.

I have to argue that Calixtus must have undergone a serious reformation between his time away on this errand for Victor, or he just must have been an extremely charismatic figure.  I say this because by the time we get to the papacy of Zephyrinus, Calixtus has now found himself as one of the top administrators of the Church. 

It is not known whether there was a preexisting relationship between Calixtus and Zephyrinus or that Calixtus demonstrated a significant turnaround in his behavior while in Anzio, because when Zephyrinus became Pope he gave Calixtus an enormous amount of responsibility.  I have to believe that it this point Calixtus had made the necessary and sincere changes in his life to really deserve the office and responsibilities handed to him.  This had to be the new Calixtus, because the old Calixtus would have cheated the Church in all sorts of ways.  And instead of this, Calixtus proved himself to be a very competent administrator and follower of the faith. 

Calixtus evolved from being in charge of specific tasks under Zephyrinus, such as moving and rearranging the cemetery mentioned in the last episode of the podcast, but found himself now dealing with more doctrinal matters of the Church.  He was given the job of beating back the heretic philosophies, and eventually proved himself capable in this area as well.  Eventually, his talent and prestige with Zephyrinus led to a rivalry between himself and another Christian who became jealous of Calixtus, the philosopher Hippolytus.  Hippolytus wanted so bad to have a higher position within the Church, and he resented Calixtus very much. 

Here is a brief rundown on who Hippolytus was.  He was born around the year 170 in Rome and eventually became one of the most prolific early Christian writers.  He was a student of the historian Ireaneus, and was known to have styled his writing after his mentor.  Hippolytus was a well-known thinker and became one of the foremost experts on Church doctrine.  He basically became what is known as a Christian apologist.  An apologist, as mentioned in a previous podcast as well, is a writer of some sort who is known for taking on a certain point of view in an argument and then places their point of view under scrutiny in order to prove their point as being the most logical and correct.  Hippolytus was very talented and well known as a Christian apologist, and he openly attacked the heretic philosophies of his day.  Hippolytus was especially known for his philosophical battles against the Monarchians in Rome during Zephyrinus’ papacy.

Well, I think Hippolytus allowed his ego to take control of his emotions, because he became very disenchanted with both Zephyrinus and Calixtus.  Instead of understanding and appreciating his role in the larger scheme of things as an important asset to the Church and Christ’s word, Hippolytus allowed himself to see Zephyrinus as an imbecile for not being more aggressive towards the Monarchians, as well as seeing Calixtus as being the pet of the Pope who was unworthy of the job given to him.

As you can probably guess, when Calixtus was elected Pope in the year 217, Hippolytus was not happy.  Instead of supporting the promotion of his rival, Hippolytus decided to formally break from the traditional and original, Christian church in order to set up his own operation at another place in Rome.  Hippolytus declared himself “successor of the apostles and participant in the same grace of the supreme priesthood and magistracy.”  A schism within the Christian Church had now occurred.

A schism is a division or split within an organization, and is virtually always ignited by a disagreement of some sort, and Hippolytus made himself the first antipope of the Church.  AN antipope is a person who makes a generally accepted claim to be the rightful pope, and is openly opposed to the officially elected and recognized pope of the Church.  Typically, antipopes have had a lot of support, including the support of many church officials.  Throughout the history of the Church, there have been forty known antipopes.  Hippolytus was the first of the forty and he continued on as an antipope from the year 217 until 235.  His opposition to the Church lasted through the pontificates of Calixtus, Urban and Pontanius.

By this point Hippolytus had basically declared theological war on Calixtus and the Christians.  Hippolytus accused Calixtus of consecrating clergy who had been married multiple times, of allowing certain bishops in general to marry (which was a big no-no), and of being too lenient on adulterers and prostitutes even if these folks had made penance for their sins. 

The funny thing about looking at the criticisms of Hippolytus was that he was generally correct.  Calixtus was moving away from the very rigorous attitude of previous pontiffs in dealing with sinners.  He had even taken the drastic, yet authoritative, step of excommunicating the leader of the Monarchians, a man named Sabellius. But he saw his position in these matters as being more in tune with the original spirit with which Christ evangelized his people.  Let us not forget the story of Mary Magdalene. 

Calixtus reign coincided with that of a Roman Emperor known as Elagabalus.  The only way to really describe this Emperor was that of a buffoon really.  Elagabalus was installed as emperor through a coup that was arranged for him by his grandmother.  He was installed as Emperor at the age of 14 and lasted for about four years.  Elagabalus was seen as a joke by his subjects, as he regularly wore wigs and makeup, was married to five different women, openly declared himself to a man, was known to have prostituted himself and installed religious gods and symbols that his people rejected.  The good thing for Calixtus and the Church was that Elagabalus was so involved with himself that he did not pay much attention to the Church.  This came to end however in 222 when Elagabalus was murdered.  He was replaced by his cousin, Alexander Severus, who was unable to deter the Romans from continuing in their lust for blood and had directed their aggression towards the Christians at this time.

As a result, Calixtus was seized by a mob along with two other priests named Calepodius and Asclepiades.  The two priests were quickly executed and their bodies were dragged through the streets of Rome.  Calixtus was thrown out of a window in his house and into a well where he was stoned to death.  This well is believed to be the same one now located at the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastavere, which is a Church believed to have been built by Calixtus.  Calixtus was buried in the “Crypt of the Popes” which he had himself set up, but was rather buried in the cemetery set up by his priestly friend Calepodius on the Via Aurelia.  Pope Calixtus’ feast day is celebrated on October 14. 

In addition to his theological differences with Hippolytus, Calixtus also decreed that three times a year, Christians should abstain from corn, wine and oil.  Combined with the Lenten fast, this practice became known as the fast of the four seasons.  I am not aware of this being practiced today in the way it was during Calixtus’ time.  

Episode XVI- Pope Zephyrinus

Zephyrinus was most likely born in the mid second century.  He was known to be a Roman; the son of a man known by the name of Abondio, but who is also been named in various sources as Habundius.  Nothing else is known of Zephyrinus’ childhood.

Zephyrinus was elected Pope in the year 199.  He immediately named our good friend Calixtus as his secretary.  This appointment gave Calixtus the enormous responsibility of being the head administrator of all the places of worship that had been provided to the Church by wealthy citizens of the Empire.  Calixtus also engaged in activities that ensured the rights of the Church as the owners and administrators of these properties.  While this may seem to be a rather small development in Church history, this is actually quite a profound development.  We are now seeing the Church beginning to accumulate assets.  This trend has continued ever since, and as we will see in later episodes, has served as the foundation for the Church’s entrance into more political affairs later in its history. 

Calixtus also reorganized the Church’s formal cemetery.  He had it moved from a place called the Via Salaria to another place called the Via Appia.  The Via Salaria was a road that connected Rome, which is near the western coast of Italy, to the eastern coast of Italy.  The Via Appia switches directions and takes you from Rome down to the Southern coast of Italy.  Calixtus did a pretty good job of rearranging the cemetery, and it became the main place for Popes to be buried between the years 235 and 314.  It eventually came to be known as the “Crypt of the Popes.”

The Roman Emperor at the time of Zephyrinus’ election was Septimius Severus.  Although the Church had enjoyed warm relations with the Emperor during the reign of the previous Pope, Victor I, by the time Zephyrinus came on board these relations had cooled considerably.

The main reason for the rift between the Roman leader and Church appears to revolve around an event that occurred in the year 202.  In that year, Septimius Severus had declared that a series of celebrations would be held in his honor, celebrating his tenth year as the Roman Emperor.  The celebrations were called “pro salute imperatorums.”  Since the Emperor himself was not a Christian, these celebrations were pagan in nature.  Well, the Christians within the empire chose not to attend due to these pagan themes.  This irritated the Emperor, and he began to issue decrees which led to the persecution of many Christians within the Empire.  The main actions taken against the Church was a decree made by Septimius stating that nobody could convert to Christianity during this period of time.  The persecutions lasted for about a year, until the Christians began participating the celebrations and customs which did not violate their own values. 

During this time the heretic philosophy of Patripassion Monarchianism also flourished.  This belief system held that the Father and Son were one Person and that the Father had been incarnated and crucified.  This is in contrast to the now well established doctrine of the Holy Trinity that the Church professed.  One of the main opponents of this heretic philosophy was a man named Hippolytus.  Hippolytus not only criticized the Patripassion proponents, but he criticized Pope Zephyrinus himself for not being tough enough on these folks.  Hippolytus even went so far as to call Zephyrinus an ignoramus and even favoring these folks!  Yikes!  But even though this is not something I think any current official of the Church would ever say something like this about our Holy Father, I have to admit that Zephyrinus kind of made himself a target of criticism because he did not take the strong stance against the Monarchians that his predecessors had in addressing other heretic philosophies. 

This sentiment pretty much sums of the general feeling with regard to how Pope Zephyrinus papacy is viewed by most Church historians.  He is known as a Pope of strong virtue rather than sound theological grounding.  And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Fortunately for Pope Zephyrinus, Calixtus was right there with him providing Zephyrinus the theological backbone the Church desperately needed to maintain.  Also of note, while Hippolytus had a solid base with which to criticize Pope Zephyrinus, some Church historians have speculated that Hippolytus was especially critical of Zephyrinus because Zephyrinus promoted Calixtus instead of Hippolytus. 

This period of time sowed the first seed of serious internal distress within the Church, and in our next episode we will encounter the fruits of this distress with the beginnings of what is known as a schism within the Church.  And at the heart of this schism was our good old friend Hippolytus, who I am becoming less and less fond of him by the minute here.

In addition to his work against the Monarchians, Pope Zephyrinus also declared that all ordinations of priests, deacons or other official Church positions were to take place in front of the members of the Church.

Pope Zephyrinus eventually passed away in the year 217. It appears he died of natural causes. He was buried in a mausoleum in the cemetery reorganized by his good friend Calixtus.  

Pope Victor I

Pope Victor was most likely born in the early to mid second century.  He was born in Africa, and thus carries the distinction of being the first African Pope.  His father’s name was believed to have been Felix.

Victor was elected Pope in the year 189.  His reign as Pope coincided with the reign of two Roman Emperors, those of Commodus and Septimius Severus.  At this time, the relationship between the Church and Roman Empire was quite peaceful.  The story of how this peace was made possible is quite ironic, as the person most often credited with creating this air of peace was a woman by the name of Marcia.  And I say ironic because of the Church’s position of exercising much stronger management over women’s participation in the Church after the inappropriate practices that had emerged prior to Victor’s papacy.

The stories of Marcia indicate that she was a very strong woman who had an intense desire to help the Christians whom she openly affiliated herself with.  Marcia came to the attention of the Pope when she petitioned her husband, Commodus, to pardon a group of Christians who had been jailed and/ or condemned to work in the salt mines in a place called Sardinia.  Sardinia is a large island off the western coast of Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea.  This group of condemned Christians included our future Pope mentioned in the previous episode, Calixtus.

Pope Victor I also found an ally in the wife of Commodus’ successor, Emperor Septimius Severus. Her name was Julia Domna, and she was the daughter of a great pagan priest named Bassianus.  Her family came from Syria, and Julia Domna grew up serving in the local temple with her family.  She therefore, developed an appreciation and sympathy for the Christians and their dedication to their own God. 

Since Pope Victor had the good fortune of being Pope during an unusually peaceful time of Church/ state relations, he was able to devote more of his time and energies to matters of the Church.  Specifically, Pope Victor I focused on matters of theology and liturgy.  And, maybe most importantly, Pope Victor also used this time to firmly establish the supreme authority of the Pope in Church matters like never seen before.

In fact, Christians not only were generally accepted throughout the Roman Empire, but they also held positions within the Emperors Courts in Rome. Emperor Commodus employed a Christian man named Prosenes.  Emperor Septimius Severus also employed a man named Proculus who once cured Severus of an illness.  Severus also employed a Christian wet nurse for his son Caracalla. 

Pope Victor inherited the lingering controversy between the Churches of Rome and those of Asia Minor concerning when to celebrate Easter.  Those in Rome celebrated this amazing event on the Sunday following the 14^th day of Nisan.  The churchgoers in Asia Minor, which is considered to be modern-day Turkey, chose to celebrate Easter on the 14^th day of Nisan itself.  This particular belief was known as Quartodecimanism.  Pope Victor wrote letters to all of the other Christian Churches, asking for feedback on when they thought the Paschal rite should be celebrated.  Eventually, enough support came for the celebration of Easter on the Sunday following the 14^th of Nisan that Pope Victor that he in turn declared it to be the official day to celebrate Easter.

Well… a man by the name of Policrates of Ephesus wrote Pope Victor and told him that they had no intention of changing their celebration from the 14^th day of Nisan to the following Sunday.  Victor swiftly and convincingly declared that all members of the Church who celebrated Easter outside of the Sunday after 14 Nisan were no longer a part of the Church of Rome.  Victor was immovable in his decision.  Not even the pleas of Bishop Ireneaus of Lyon were able to persuade the Holy Father to change his mind.  Eventually, the Churches of Asia came around to accepting Pope Victor’s decree. 

As a result of this single incident, strength and influence of the Pope as we now know it was born with the papacy of Victor I.  Though he was very diplomatic in how he gathered information prior to making decisions, once he made his decision it was final. 

Victor’s forceful personality carried over to his dealings with the heretics of his day.  He excommunicated anyone claiming false prophesies and philosophies.  Some of his most notable opponents included Theodotus and Natale.  Victor was a man of compassion, however, and was known to welcome excommunicated members of the church once they repented for their mistakes.  Although the heresies persisted after his reign, Pope Victor I gave his successors a clear and convincing method of dealing with them.

In addition to his decree over the celebration of Easter, Pope Victor also declared that if a person had participated in an emergency baptism for some reason or other, such as in a river, spring, sea or other body of water outside of the traditional Church setting, then that person was still entitled to being treated as a full member of the Church.  Apparently some folks were struggling with welcoming new people to the Church who were in need of an emergency baptism.

Pope Victor is also believed to have authored a variety of treatises.  A treatise is a long and systematic way of addressing a certain topic.  Although we are not sure exactly what Pope Victor wrote about in general, we do know that he wrote one particular treatise on dice throwers.  He most likely used the treatise to discuss the behavior and why throwing dice was a sinful act.  I have to say this is where my love for the Church really grows and grows.  I love the detail to which our Church fathers have gone to really take a look at sinful behavior and how it impacts our spiritual lives.  While it does not make staying away from the sin any easier sometimes, as I myself can attest to that, it sure does help to explain what is going on with us and within us, while we are experiencing the struggle of addressing a particular sin.  We are especially blessed now to be able to read treatises on just about every topic known to man due to the work of our Church brothers and sisters over the millennia.

Pope Victor also introduced the Catholic world to the Latin language.  Latin was the native language in his beloved Africa.  Pope Victor thus mandated that all masses were to be said in Latin from his time on, straying away from the original Greek language for the first time.  This tradition of celebrating the mass in Latin would last for over 1800 years.  So yeah, I think it’s safe to say Pope Victor I had a lasting impression on the Church.

Pope Victor I died around the year 199.  The resources used in this podcast conflict with regard to whether or not he was a martyr.  However, while the sources vary on their opinions as to how Victor died, the Liber Pontificalis also lists him as a martyr.  He is buried near St. Peter.

Pope Eleutherius

Eleutherius was born in a town called Nicopolis, a city that is no longer active on the Midwestern coast of Greece.  Although Nicopolis no longer exists, ancient ruins still present in the town tell us the stories of its rich history.  Nicopolis was the Greek capital of the region of Epirus in Ancient Greece.  At it’s peak, Nicopolis had a population of about 30,000 people. 

In addition to knowing where he was from, we also know that Eleutherius’ father’s name was Habundius.  Eleutherius’ name means free in Greek. 

Prior to being elected Pope, Eleutherius was a deacon in the Church who served under Popes Anicetus and Soter.  It is even believed that Eleutherius served as Pope Anicetus’ secretary during Anicetus’ monumental meeting with St. Polycarp regarding the celebration of Easter.  He was, therefore, well versed in the intellectual, philosophical and spiritual warfare being waged within the Christian world. 

During his time as Pope, beginning around the year 174, Eleutherius made the decree that no food fit for human consumption was to be despised by the Christians.  He most likely made this decree in order to oppose the continuing Montanist movement, which prohibited its followers from eating meat. 

Eleutherius also brought on board his number one team of theologians and philosophers in order to discuss the Montanist threat and to decide what to do about it.  The “A Team,” as I call them, consisted of Saints Irenaeus and Pothinus.  St. Irenaeus was a bishop from Lyons, France.  Irenaeus was a disciple of our old friend St. Polycarp, and made a name for himself as an early Church apologist.  An apologist is an author or writer of some sort who is usually a recognized leader in their particular field.  Through their talents in writing, they take a position on a certain issue and argue their point.  Irenaeus was a Catholic apologist and well known opponent of Montanism.

St. Pothinus was an older and very respected bishop of Lyons as well.  He was ultimately martyred as a result of wounds sustained while he was imprisoned during the  Christian persecutions in Lyons, around the year 177.  Together, Pope Eleutherius, Irenaeus and Pothinus devised strategies on how to best repel the heretic philosophies facing Christianity during this time.

Pope Eleutherius was Pope during the reign of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.  Although Marcus Aurelius and the Church had a generally amicable relationship during Aurelius’ reign, especially within the boundaries of Rome itself, the year 177 was a particularly tough one in Christian/ Roman Empire relations. 

That year, many persecutions took place in the Roman provinces.  Martyrdoms were on the rise again, probably due in large part to the Montanist movement within the Church.  The radical Montanist doctrine was perceived as undermining Roman authority, and the Christian faithful paid the price.  Lyon, France was a particularly hot spot of some of these Christian persecutions.  There is one martyrdom story in particular that has remained in Christian lore throughout the centuries, that of the martyrdom of St. Cecilia.

The story goes that St. Cecilia was a faithful Christian who had married a pagan man named Valerius. Cecilia insisted on remaining a virgin until her wedding day to Valerius, which he respected and agreed to.  Valerius was so impressed with his new bride’s faithfulness, he himself converted to Christianity.  Then his brother Tiburtius became so impressed with Valerius and Cecilia that he too converted.  Well… this was just too much for the Roman prefect of Lyon, Almachius, to handle and so he ordered them to be executed.

Cecilia was placed in a type of sweat lodge where she was expected to suffocate.  After three days she emerged from the caldarium of steam unharmed.  At that point Almachius ordered Cecilia to be beheaded.  The executioner tried three times to behead her, but was unsuccessful.  Legend has it the executioner became so freaked out he himself ran away.  Cecilia survived three more days but eventually died of the abuse her body had taken over the course of the past week.

Although this was a very strenuous time for Pope Eleutherius, eventually Marcus Aurelius passed away and his son Commodus became the Roman Emperor.  Commodus appeared to be much more tolerant of the Christians and recognized the difference in Christian doctrine versus Montantist philosophy.  This separation between the Church and Montanists were made very clear by Pope Eleutherius’ work as pope.  Peace between Christianity and the Empire characterized the rest of Eluetherius’ papacy. 

Although relations between the Church and Roman Empire remained fair after Marcus Aurelius’ death, there remained isolated incidents of Christian persecution within the Empire.  One notable instance occurred around the year 186, when a man named Calixtus was sentenced to a flogging by the local prefect named Fuscianus.  Calixtus had been accused of disturbing Jewish services for his role in appearing at a synagogue on behalf of a banker to collect certain debts.  Calixtus took a pretty bad beating for his “transgression,” but… have no fear for our Christian brother Calixtus as he will be joining us later in the Pope Podcast as our sixteenth Pope.

Pope Eleutherius died in the year 189.  He is not recognized as a martyr of the Church.  His feast day is celebrated on May 6.

Though he is generally seen as having a strong papacy, Eleutherius has been criticized for his dealings with the Montanists.  He has been seen by some as having a rather delayed reaction in dealing with them.  While many outsiders of the Vatican criticized him for this, Eleutherius most likely delayed his reaction to the Montanist movement per the request of Christians who had been jailed in Lyon during the time of Cecilia’s persecution.  Most likely it was St. Irenaeus who requested patience by Eleutherius.  Nonetheless, Eleutherius was able to keep up a now growing tradition of Church leaders who were able to maintain the integrity of the Church and God’s will.