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Portrait associated with Hippolytus of Rome

Portrait image associated with Hippolytus of Rome from Wikimedia media records.

Dobroš © Dana Stehlíková · CC BY-SA 4.0

Hippolytus of Rome · Author Profile

Hippolytus of Rome ( hi-PAH-lit-əs, Ancient Greek: Ἱππόλυτος; Romanized: Hippólytos, c. 170 – c. 235 AD) was one of the most important Christian thinkers of the second and third centuries, though his provenance, identity, and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. In this library, Hippolytus of Rome is linked to 1 document, including The Refutation of All Heresies.

Activity
c. AD 230
Documents in this library
1
Corpus date window
AD 230

History and Context

Hippolytus of Rome ( hi-PAH-lit-əs, Ancient Greek: Ἱππόλυτος; Romanized: Hippólytos, c. 170 – c. 235 AD) was one of the most important Christian thinkers of the second and third centuries, though his provenance, identity, and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communities include Rome, Palestine, Egypt, Anatolia, and other regions of the Middle East. The best historians of literature in the ancient church, including Eusebius and Jerome, openly admit they cannot name where Hippolytus the biblical commentator and theologian served in leadership. They had read his works but did not possess evidence of his community. 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; from the context, it seems Photios was suggesting Hippolytus publicly identified himself in this way. Hippolytus of Rome is described in reference records as theologian, writer, Catholic bishop, and patron saint. Place associations in major reference datasets include Anatolia and Sardinia. The documents preserved here span AD 230 and include The Refutation of All Heresies (1 total).

What We Know

  • Activity window in reference data: c. AD 230.
  • Approximate lifespan from biographical records: AD 150-AD 235.
  • Roles in major reference data: theologian, writer, Catholic bishop, and patron saint.
  • No securely dated office chronology is preserved in current reference records.
  • Associated places: Anatolia and Sardinia.
  • Tradition or confessional marker: Catholic Church.
  • Languages linked to writing or transmission: Ancient Greek.
  • No additional notable-work list is consistently preserved in reference metadata.
  • Documents in this corpus: 1 (The Refutation of All Heresies).
  • Corpus date range for attributed texts: AD 230.

Works in This Library

Legacy

One older theory claims he came into conflict with the popes of his time and seems to have headed a schismatic group as a rival to the bishop of Rome, thus becoming an antipope. Hippolytus of Rome's reception in theology and church history is closely tied to ongoing study of The Refutation of All Heresies.

Source Notes