Callixtus I's contemporaries and enemies,Tertullian andHippolytus of Rome, the author ofPhilosophumena, relate that Callixtus, as a youngslave from Rome, was put in charge of collected funds by his master Carpophorus, funds which were given asalms by other Christians for the care of widows and orphans; Callixtus lost the funds and fled from the city, but was caught nearPortus.[4] 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 asynagogue when he tried to borrow money or collect debts from someJews.[3]
Philosophumena claims that, denounced as a Christian, Callixtus was sentenced to work in the mines ofSardinia.[4] He was released with other Christians at the request of Hyacinthus, aeunuchpresbyter, who representedMarcia, the favourite mistress of EmperorCommodus.[4] At this time his health was so weakened that his fellow Christians sent him toAntium to recuperate and he was given a pension byPope Victor I.[3]
In 199, Callixtus was ordained a deacon byPope Zephyrinus and appointed superintendent of the Christian cemetery on theAppian Way. That place, which is to this day called theCatacombs of St. Callixtus, became the burial-ground of many popes and was the first land property owned by the Church.[4] EmperorJulian the Apostate, writing to a pagan priest, said:[4]
Christians have gained most popularity because of their charity to strangers and because of their care for the burial of their dead.
In the third century, nine bishops of Rome were interred in the Catacomb of Callixtus, in the part now called theCapella dei Papi. These catacombs were rediscovered by the archaeologistGiovanni Battista de Rossi in 1849.[citation needed]
In 217, when Callixtus followed Zephyrinus asBishop of Rome, he started to admit into the Church converts from sects or schisms who had not done penance.[5] He fought with success the heretics, and established the practice of absolution of all sins, including adultery and murder.[4] Hippolytus found Callixtus's policy of extending forgiveness of sins to cover sexual transgressions shockingly lax and denounced him for allowing believers to regularize liaisons with their own slaves by recognizing them as valid marriages.[6][7] As a consequence also of doctrinal differences, Hippolytus was elected as a rival bishop of Rome, the firstantipope.[8]
TheBasilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere was atitulus of which Callixtus was the patron. In an apocryphal anecdote in the collection of imperial biographies called theAugustan History, the spot on which he had built an oratory was claimed by tavern keepers, but Alexander Severus decided that the worship of any god was better than a tavern, hence the structure's name. The 4th-centurybasilica ofSs Callixti et Iuliani was rebuilt in the 12th century byPope Innocent II and rededicated to theBlessed Virgin Mary. The 8th-centuryChiesa di San Callisto is close by, with its beginnings apparently as a shrine on the site of his martyrdom, which is attested in the 4th-centuryDepositio martyrum and so is likely to be historical.[citation needed]
It is possible that Callixtus was martyred around 222 or 223, perhaps during a popular uprising, perhaps by being thrown down a well. According to the apocryphalActs 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.[9] Asterius was arrested for this action by the prefect Alexander and then killed by being thrown off a bridge into theTiber River.[9]
Callixtus was buried in thecemetery of Calepodius on theAurelian Way[4][10] and his anniversary is given by the 4th-centuryDepositio Martirum and by subsequentmartyrologies on 14 October. The Catholic Church celebrates his optional memorial on 14 October. His relics were transferred in the 9th century to Santa Maria in Trastevere.[11]
^The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica."Saint Calixtus I".Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved14 August 2016.
^Jones, Tery M."Pope Saint Callistus I".Saints.SQPN.com. Star Quest Publication Network. Retrieved14 October 2010.
^abcChapman, John (1908). "Pope Callistus I" inThe Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^abcdefgPaolo O. Pirlo (1997). "St. Callistus I".My First Book of Saints. Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate - Quality Catholic Publications. p. 240.ISBN978-971-91595-4-4.
^abSabine Baring-Gould,The Lives of the Saints. Vol. 2. (J. Hodges, 1877). Digitized 6 June 2007. Page 506.
^Matilda Webb (6 May 2024).The Churches and Catacombs of Early Christian Rome: A Comprehensive Guide. Sussex Academic Press. pp. 229–.ISBN978-1-902210-57-5.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: John Chapman (1908). "Pope Callistus I". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Gerber, Simon (2006). "Calixt von Rom und der monarchianische Streit" [Calixtus of Rome and the Monarchian Controversy].Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum/Journal of Ancient Christianity5, 2, pp. 213–239.
András Handl (2014).Bishop Callistus I. of Rome (217?−222?): A Martyr or a Confessor? In Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum/Journal of Ancient Christianity 18, p. 390-419.
