Hippolytus of Rome was an important figure in the early Christian church during the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD. He was a scholar, theologian, and church leader who made significant contributions to the development of doctrine and church governance in the nascent Christian community. Though sometimes controversial due to his rigorist views, Hippolytus was highly influential in his own time and remains an important figure for historians studying the early church.
The key facts we know about Hippolytus are that he was a presbyter and theologian in Rome, likely born around 170 AD based on references in his writings. He was a prolific writer in both Greek and Latin, though most of his work has been lost. What does survive provides valuable insight into the life of the early church. He is considered to be the most important 3rd-century theologian in the Greek-speaking East. He died around 235 AD as a martyr during the persecution instigated by Roman Emperor Maximinus Thrax.
Hippolytus’s life and work spanned a critical time of development for Christianity as it evolved from a persecuted sect to the official religion of the Roman Empire. When Hippolytus was born, Christianity was still a minority, often oppressed faith in the Roman world. By the time of his martyrdom, the influence and social position of Christianity was rising rapidly. Hippolytus lived during the reigns of several important Roman emperors including Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, and Alexander Severus, who had varying relationships with and policies toward Christianity.
Hippolytus’s Background
Little is known definitively about Hippolytus’s early life before he emerged as a Christian leader in Rome. Based on his Greek name and knowledge of Greek philosophy and literature evident in his writings, it is assumed he was born in the Eastern Mediterranean world, possibly even Greece itself. He was certainly well educated and seemed to have means, perhaps being born into an aristocratic family. Hippolytus first appears in the historical record when he arrives in Rome, likely sometime in the late 2nd century.
At that time, Rome had a thriving and relatively tolerant Christian community, though under the emperorship of Marcus Aurelius Christians did suffer persecutions. The church was led by a monarchical bishop, though groups of presbyters like Hippolytus formed an important council around the bishop. It was a period of diverse and competing Christian theologies, with figures such as Valentinus and Marcion teaching Christian Gnostic and dualistic doctrines that alarmed more orthodox churchmen.
Hippolytus established himself as a learned Christian teacher and exegete in Rome. He was fluent in Greek and had a strong education in classical philosophy, medicine, mathematics and other disciplines. Some scholars believe he may have been born a pagan and converted to Christianity as a young man. Whether that is true or not, he became an outspoken champion of doctrinal orthodoxy and sought to refute the heresies promoted by Gnostics and other groups he saw as corrupted. His voluminous writings, many later lost, covered issues of Christology, the Holy Spirit, the afterlife, chronology, and church governance.
Works and Teachings
Hippolytus made major contributions to the growing field of Christian theology through his many writings. He sought to demonstrate the reasonableness of Christian belief to pagan critics while also defending orthodoxy against what he saw as dangerous heresies being propagated by other Christian teachers. Some of his major works include:
- Refutation of All Heresies – His most famous work was this vigorous assault on Gnosticism and defense of apostolic Christianity. It provided important critiques of figures like Valentinus and Marcion while also quoting extensively from their writings, preserving invaluable evidence of early Christian diversity.
- Commentary on Daniel – This landmark commentary on the prophetic Book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible delved extensively into chronology and apocalypticism. It influenced many subsequent Christian calculations about the end times.
- On Christ and Antichrist – This eschatological work continued Hippolytus’s examination of the end times, the Antichrist, and the Second Coming.
- The Apostolic Tradition – This work on the organization of the church provided the first ever liturgy for appointing a new bishop, giving invaluable insight into early church hierarchy and ritual.
In terms of theology, Hippolytus promoted a subordinationist Christology that emphasized the distinctness of the incarnate Word from God the Father. He thought the Godhead was a hierarchical Trinity consisting of separate persons rather than a unified Being. He was also a millenarian, believing in Christ’s imminent return to establish a literal 1,000 year kingdom on earth. While influential in his day, some of these views were later declared heretical.
On matters of church discipline and governance, Hippolytus was a rigid traditionalist. He demanded high moral standards for Christians and treated church organization like a grave issue bound by divine law. He opposed any flexibility or innovation that deviated from what he believed to be apostolic precedent. This led him into conflict with more moderate bishops.
Schism with the Bishop of Rome
In the early 3rd century, Hippolytus became embroiled in a bitter dispute with two successive Bishops of Rome over issues of church discipline and schismatic movements. First was Pope Zephyrinus, whom Hippolytus accused of modalism, or the heretical belief that God the Father and the Son were identical rather than distinct persons. Hippolytus believed Zephyrinus was too tolerant of divergent views.
When Callixtus I succeeded Zephyrinus as Bishop of Rome, Hippolytus became even more alarmed. Not only did the new pope hold doctrines Hippolytus viewed as heretical, like the reconciliation of even grave sinners to the church, but Callixtus apparently extended these liberal policies to the church’s hierarchical structure itself. Hippolytus saw him as corrupt and permissive.
This escalating conflict led Hippolytus to break communion with the Bishop of Rome altogether around 217 AD. In an unprecedented move, Hippolytus had himself elected bishop in opposition to Callixtus by a synod of his followers. Thus Hippolytus became the first antipope, leading a schismatic group from within the city of Rome itself. However, he apparently reconciled at least partially with Pope Pontianus before his death.
Death and Legacy
In 235 AD, during the persecution of Maximinus Thrax, both Hippolytus and Pope Pontianus were arrested and exiled to miserable conditions in the mines of Sardinia. It was grueling and deadly work, and both died on the island within a year. Before his martyrdom, Hippolytus reconciled with the church and consecrated Pontianus as bishop, ending the schism. The church later honored both men as martyrs and saints.
Hippolytus left behind a rich if contentious legacy. Modern scholars value his writings for the invaluable window they provide into early Christianity. Some of the Roman Church’s important rituals, like the prayer used for the consecration of bishops, derive directly from Hippolytus’s work. He also stands as a father of Christian theology, having advanced the study of chronology, exegesis, Christology and eschatology. The church remained influenced by his supersessionist views of Judaism as well.
While his rigorism led to schism during his life, Hippolytus stands tall among influential figures in Christianity’s vital first two centuries. As a saint, theologian, writer, and even first antipope, Hippolytus of Rome made major contributions that shaped the development of doctrine, tradition, and hierarchy in the early church at a critical period as it grew from obscure Jewish sect to the official religion of the Roman Empire.