Hippolytus of Rome
Roman presbyter (and possibly antipope) who wrote the Refutation of All Heresies and the Apostolic Tradition. Exiled to Sardinia under Maximinus Thrax. Some scholars split this figure into two; tradition treats him as one.
Why Hippolytus matters
Hippolytus is awkward — he was the first antipope, set up against Pope Callixtus around 217 in a dispute over discipline and theology, and reconciled with the church only when both he and his rival were exiled to the Sardinian mines and died there. But his writings are gold. His Apostolic Tradition is the earliest detailed description of how a Roman Christian community actually worshipped — the eucharistic prayer, baptism, ordination — and modern liturgies (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran) drew on it heavily in the twentieth-century reforms. His Refutation of All Heresies preserves quotations from Gnostic teachers we'd otherwise have lost. The first schismatic in Rome is also one of our best windows into the third-century church.
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Common questions
- Who was Hippolytus of Rome?
- Hippolytus of Rome (170–235) — Roman presbyter (and possibly antipope) who wrote the Refutation of All Heresies and the Apostolic Tradition. Exiled to Sardinia under Maximinus Thrax. Some scholars split this figure into two; tradition treats him as one.
- Who taught Hippolytus of Rome?
- Irenaeus of Lyons.
- Who did Hippolytus of Rome meet?
- Origen of Alexandria.
- Who did Hippolytus of Rome oppose?
- Valentinus, Basilides, Pope Zephyrinus, and Pope Callixtus I.
Works
- Apostolic Traditionc. 215
Earliest surviving liturgical and church-order document of the Roman church.
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Sources for biography
- Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 6.20, 6.22 primary
- Jerome, De Viris Illustribus 61 primary
- Hippolytus, Refutatio Omnium Haeresium primary
- ODCC s.v. Hippolytus secondary
documented connections(4)
- opposed ValentinusHippolytus' Refutatio devotes considerable space to refuting Valentinian and other Gnostic systems.Hippolytus, Refutatio Omnium Haeresium 6
- opposed BasilidesHippolytus gives an extended refutation of Basilides in Refutatio book 7.Hippolytus, Refutatio 7.20-27
- opposed Pope ZephyrinusHippolytus accuses Zephyrinus of doctrinal weakness and Callixtus of innovation in penance.Hippolytus, Refutatio 9.6-12
- opposed Pope Callixtus IHippolytus rejected Callixtus' election and his lenient discipline; tradition makes him an antipope of this period.Hippolytus, Refutatio 9.11-12
tradition connections(2)
- taught by Irenaeus of LyonsPhotius and later sources describe Hippolytus as a hearer of Irenaeus; some modern scholars treat the link as plausible but not directly attested.Photius, Bibliotheca cod. 121 · ODCC s.v. Hippolytus
- met (incoming) Origen of AlexandriaJerome reports that Origen heard Hippolytus preach during a visit to Rome c. 212.Jerome, De Viris Illustribus 61