Pope Hyginus
| Saint Hyginus | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Papacy began | 136/138 |
| Papacy ended | 140/142 |
| Predecessor | Telesphorus |
| Successor | Pius I |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Hyginus |
| Born | ??? Athens, Greece |
| Died | 140/142 Rome, Roman Empire |
| Papal styles of Pope Hyginus |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | Saint |
Pope Saint Hyginus was bishop of Rome from about 136 or 138 to about 140 or 142.[1] Tradition holds that during his papacy he determined the various prerogatives of the clergy and defined the grades of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. However, modern scholars tend to doubt this claim and view the governance of the church of Rome during this period as still more or less collective.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, Hyginus was a Greek born in Athens. The source further states that he previously was a philosopher, probably founded on the similarity of his name with that of two Latin authors.
Irenaeus says that the Gnostic Valentinus came to Rome in Hyginus's time, remaining there until Anicetus became pontiff (Against Heresies, III, iii). Cerdo, another Gnostic and predecessor of Marcion, also lived at Rome in the reign of Hyginus; by confessing his errors and recanting he succeeded in obtaining readmission into the bosom of the Church, but eventually he fell back into the heresies and was expelled from the Church. How many of these events took place during the time of Hyginus is not known.
The Liber Pontificalis also relates that this pope organized the hierarchy and established the order of ecclesiastical precedence (Hic clerum composuit et distribuit gradus). This general observation recurs also in the biography of Pope Hormisdas; it has no historical value, and according to Duchesne, the writer probably referred to the lower orders of the clergy.
The ancient sources contain no information as to his having died a martyr. At his death he was buried on the Vatican Hill, near the tomb of St. Peter. His feast is celebrated on 11 January.
Three letters attributed to him have survived.
Notes
- ↑ The chronology of these Popes cannot be determined with any degree of exactitude by the help of the extant sources. (Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope St. Hyginus) According to Eusebius (Church History, IV, xv.) Hyginus succeeded Telesphorus during the first year of the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, i.e. in 138 or 139. Eusebius (Church History, IV, xvi) states that Hyginus's pontificate lasted four years.
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia, "Pope St. Hyginus" (1913).
- Opera Omnia
Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Hyginus (pope)". Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Telesphorus |
Bishop of Rome Pope 136–140 |
Succeeded by Pius I |
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