From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Pope Anicetus

Head of the Catholic Church from c. 157 to 168

Summary

Head of the Catholic Church from c. 157 to 168

Field	Value
type	Pope
honorific-prefix	Pope Saint
name	Anicetus
title	Bishop of Rome
church	Catholic Church
term_start	c. 157
term_end	c. 20 April 168
predecessor	Pius I
successor	Soter
birth_date	late 1st century
birth_place	Emesa, Syria, Roman Empire
death_date	April 168
death_place	Rome, Italy, Roman Empire
feast_day	20 April (East)
attributes	Papal tiara, palm branch
image	Wolnzach, St Laurentius 017.JPG
caption	Statue of Pope St. Anicetus from St. Laurentius, Holzkirchen in Wolnzach, Bavaria, Germany

| honorific-prefix = Pope Saint Pope Anicetus (Greek: Ανίκητος) was the bishop of Rome from c. 157 to his death in April 168. According to the Annuario Pontificio, the start of his papacy may have been 153. Anicetus actively opposed Gnosticism and Marcionism. He welcomed Polycarp of Smyrna to Rome to discuss the Easter controversy.

Biography

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Anicetus was a Syrian from the city of Emesa (modern-day Homs).{{Cite book |publication-date = January 1, 2001|page=5

According to Irenaeus, it was during his pontificate that the aged Polycarp of Smyrna, a disciple of John the Evangelist, visited Rome to discuss the celebration of Easter with Anicetus. Polycarp and his Church of Smyrna celebrated the crucifixion on the fourteenth day of Nisan, which coincides with Pesach (or Passover) regardless of which day of the week upon this date fell, while the Roman Church celebrated Easter on Sunday—the weekday of Jesus's resurrection. The two did not agree on a common date, but Anicetus conceded to Polycarp and the Church of Smyrna the ability to retain the date to which they were accustomed. The controversy was to grow heated in the following centuries.

The Christian historian Hegesippus also visited Rome during Anicetus's pontificate. This visit is often cited as a sign of the early importance of the Roman See.

Anicetus actively opposed the Gnostics and Marcionism. The Liber Pontificalis records that Anicetus decreed that priests are not allowed to have long hair (perhaps because the Gnostics wore long hair).

According to church tradition, Anicetus suffered martyrdom during the reign of Emperor Lucius Verus, but there are no historical grounds for this account. 16, 17 and 20 April are all cited as the date of his death, but 20 April is currently celebrated as his feast day. Before 1970, the date chosen was 17 April. The Liber Pontificalis states he was buried in the cemetery of Callistus.

References

(West)
17 April{{in lang. el [http://www.saint.gr/1955/saint.aspx Άγιος Ανίκητος ο Ιερομάρτυρας πάπας Ρώμης Ορθόδοξος Συναξαριστής]
Campbell, Thomas (1907). "Pope St. Anicetus" in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Irenaeus, cited in Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', 5.24; translated by G.A. Williamson, ''Eusebius: History of the Church'' (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1965), pp. 232f
[https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/lives-of-the-saints/volume-iv-april/st-anicetus-pope-and-martyr/ Butler, Alban. "St. Anicetus, Pope and Martyr", ''The Lives of the Saints'', Vol. IV: April. 1866]
Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 120
Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2001 {{ISBN. 88-209-7210-7)

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

syrian-christian-saints 168-deaths 2nd-century-christian-saints 2nd-century-romans ancient-christians-involved-in-controversies christian-anti-gnosticism asian-popes saints-from-roman-italy papal-saints people-from-homs popes syrian-popes saints-from-roman-syria year-of-birth-unknown 2nd-century-popes date-of-easter 2nd-century-religious-leaders

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Pope Anicetus — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report