Hippolytus

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Hippolytus of Rome (170 - 235 AD) stands out as the most influential theologian of the 3rd century within the Christian Church in Rome, where he likely originated. Photios I of Constantinople describes him in his Bibliotheca (cod. 121) as a disciple of Irenaeus, who was said to be a disciple of Polycarp, and from this context it is inferred that Irenaeus possibly encouraged Hippolytus to identify himself by this lineage. However, this claim remains uncertain. Hippolytus clashed with the popes of his time and appears to have led a schismatic group as a rival to the Bishop of Rome. He opposed the Roman bishops who relaxed the penitential system to accommodate the large number of new pagan converts entering the Church. Nevertheless, it is probable that he was reconciled with the Church at the time of his martyrdom. Starting from the 4th century AD, various legends emerged about him, depicting him as a priest in the Novatianist schism or as a soldier converted by Saint Lawrence. He has also been mistakenly identified with another martyr bearing the same name. Pius IV identifies him as "Saint Hippolytus, Bishop of Pontus" who was martyred during the reign of Alexander Severus, according to his inscription on a statue discovered at the Church of St. Lawrence in Rome and preserved at the Vatican as photographed and published by Brunsen.