Pope Zephyrinus was thebishop of Rome from the year 199 until his death on 20 December 217.[1] He was born inRome, and succeededVictor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor,Callixtus I. He is known for combating heresies and defending thedivinity of Christ.
During the 18-year pontificate of Zephyrinus, the young Church endured persecution under the EmperorSeptimius Severus until his death in the year 211. To quoteAlban Butler, "this holy pastor was the support and comfort of the distressed flock".[2] According toSt. Optatus, Zephyrinus also combated newheresies andapostasies, chief of which wereMarcion,Praxeas, Valentinus and theMontanists.[3]Eusebius insists that Zephyrinus fought vigorously against the blasphemies of the two Theodotuses, who in response treated him with contempt, but later called him the greatest defender of the divinity of Christ. Although he was not physically martyred for the faith, his suffering – both mental and spiritual – during his pontificate have earned him the title of martyr, a title that was repealed 132 years after his death.[4] He was accused of being seduced byMonarchian views.[5]
During the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211), relations with the young Christian Church deteriorated, and in 202 or 203, the edict of persecution appeared, which forbade conversion to Christianity under the severest penalties.[1]
Zephyrinus's predecessor, Pope Victor I, had excommunicatedTheodotus the Tanner for reviving a heresy that Christ became God only after the Resurrection. Theodotus' followers formed a separate heretical community at Rome, ruled by another Theodotus, the Money Changer, and Asclepiodotus.Natalius, who was tortured for his faith during the persecution, was persuaded by Asclepiodotus to become a bishop in their sect in exchange for a monthly stipend of 150 denarii. Natalius then reportedly experienced several visions warning him to abandon these heretics. According to an anonymous work entitledThe Little Labyrinth quoted byEusebius, Natalius was whipped a whole night by an angel, and the next day, he donned sackcloth and ashes and weeping bitterly threw himself at the feet of Zephyrinus.[6][1]
^abc One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Kirsch, Johann Peter (1912). "Pope St. Zephyrinus". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^Young, Frances M. (2006). "Monotheism and Christology". In Mitchell, Margaret M.; Young, Frances M. (eds.).Origins to Constantine. The Cambridge History of Christianity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 458–61.ISBN978-1-107-42361-9.
^Eusebius,Historia Ecclesiastica 5.28.9–12; translated by G.A. Williamson,Eusebius: The History of the Church (Harmonsworth: Penguin, 1965), pp. 236f
^"Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 136
