Pope Dionysius

"Saint Dionysius" redirects here.

Dionysius
Birth name	Dionysius
Papacy began	July 22, 259
Papacy ended	December 26, 268
Predecessor	Sixtus II
Successor	Felix I
Born	??? Greece ?
Died	December 26 268 Rome, Italy ?

Pope Saint Dionysius was bishop of Rome from July 22, 259 to December 26, 268. He followed Sixtus II, who had been martyred along with several Roman deacons, and was succeeded by Felix I.

Probably born in Southern Italy, Dionysius was elected pope in 259, after the Roman bishop's chair had been vacant for nearly a year after the martyrdom of Sixtus II in 258. Emperor Valerian I, who had led the persecution, was captured and killed by the King of Persia in 260. The new emperor, Gallienus, issued an edict of toleration, bringing the persecution of Christians to an end and giving the church legal status. Dionysius took on the task of reorganizing the Roman church, which had fallen into great disorder during the persecution. He had to contend with the ongoing Novatianist schism over the question of whether those who renounced their Christian faith under persecution could be absolved of their sin and readmitted to communion. He also had to deal with a suspected heresy by the bishop of Alexandria, also called Dionysius, concerning the emerging doctrine of the Logos.

Pope Dionysius sent large sums of money to the churches of Cappadocia, which had been devastated by the marauding Goths, to rebuild and to ransom those held captive. He brought order to the Roman church and the peace he helped establish with Roman Empire would last until 303, during which time the Christian church became a very formidable institution. He died of natural causes on December 26, 268.

Biography

Dionysius' date of birth and family origin are unknown. He is said to have come from Southern Italy or Sicily, and the Liber Ponificalils reports that he had previously been a monk. During the pontificate of Pope Stephen I (254-57) Dionysius was a presbyter of the Roman church. During this time, two letters were addressed to him from his namesake, the bishop of Alexandria, in which the bishop describes him as an excellent and learned man (Eusebius, Hist eccl. VII, vii). The letter deals with the subject of "heretical" baptism, over which Rome and the African churches disagreed, with Rome, under Stephen, affirming that baptisms performed by Novatianist schismatics were valid, and many in the African and Eastern churches insist that they were not. The friction between Rome and the African churches was ameliorated during the papacy of Sixtus II, but what role Dionysius had in this we cannot say.

Meanwhile, the persecution of the Christians began again under Valerian I. Dionysius escaped the summary execution of Sixtus and his deacons, perhaps very narrowly, as he seems to have been already of some importance in the churches administration. After the martyrdom of Sixtus on August 6, 258, the office of bishop of Rome remained vacant for nearly a year, as the violence of the persecution made it impossible to elect a new head. The church suffered greatly during this period. Valerian's edict permitted the summary execution of bishops, priests, and deacons. The emperor also aimed to purge the higher ranks of society, in which the church had made significant inroads. Christians of senatorial and equestrian rank were punished with degradation and the confiscation of their property, followed by death if they refused to offer sacrifice to the gods of the state. Noble women were sentenced with property confiscation and exile. Christians in the imperial household were sent in chains to perform forced labor in distant domains. In addition to the martyrdom of the pope, Cyprian of Carthage suffered was killed on September 14, 258. Another celebrated martyr was the Roman deacon Saint Lawrence. In Spain Bishop Fructuosus of Tarragona and his two deacons were put to death on January 21, 259. There were also executions in the eastern provinces (Eusebius, VII, xii).

The difficulties of external persecution were matched during this time by continued strength of the schism founded by the antipope Novatian, who himself became a victim of the persecutions in 258. The Novatianists, who held that those who committed apostasy under persecution could not be readmitted to full communion, had strong congregations throughout the Roman Empire. It is likely that, given their commitment to resist persecution at the risk of their lives, they even gained in prestige and possibly in membership during this time. A further complication was the division within the Catholic faction over the question of the validity of baptisms performed by Novatianist clergy.

It was not until the persecution had begun to subside that Dionysius was raised to the office of bishop of Rome on July 22, 259. Some months later the Emperor Gallienus issued his edict of toleration, which brought the persecution to an end and gave a legal existence to the Church (Eusebius, Church History VII.13). Thus the Roman Church came again into possession of its buildings for worship, its cemeteries, and other properties, and Dionysius was able to bring its administration once more into order. About 260 Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria wrote his letter to Ammonius and Euphranor against Sabellianism in which he expressed himself with inexactness as to the Logos and its relation to God the Father (see DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA). Upon this an accusation against him was laid before Pope Dionysius who called a synod at Rome about 260 for the settlement of the matter. The pope issued, in his own name and that of the council, an important doctrinal letter in which, first, the erroneous doctrine of Sabellius was again condemned and, then, the false opinions of those were rejected who, like the Marcionites, in a similar manner separate the Divine monarchy into three entirely distinct hypostases or who represent the Son of God as a created being, while the Holy Scripture declare Him to have been begotten passages in the Bible, such as Deuteronomy 32:6 and Proverbs 8:22, cannot be cited in support of false doctrines such as these. Along with this doctrinal epistle Pope Dionysius sent a separate letter to the Alexandrian Bishop in which the latter was called on to explain his views. This Dionysius of Alexandria did in his "Apologia" (Athanasius, De sententia Dionysii, V, xiii, De decretis Nicaenae synodi, xxvi). According to the ancient practice of the Roman Church Dionysius also extended his care to the faithful of distant lands. When the Christians of Cappadocia were in great distress from the marauding incursions of the Goths, the pope addressed a consolatory letter to the Church of Caesarea and sent a large sum of money by messengers for the redemption of enslaved Christians (Basilius, Epist. lxx, ed. Garnier). The great synod of Antioch which deposed Paul of Samosata sent a circular letter to Pope Dionysius and Bishop Maximus of Alexandria concerning its proceedings (Eusebius, Church History VII.30). After death the body of Dionysius was buried in the papal crypt in the catacomb of Callistus.

Legacy

Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by: Sixtus II	Bishop of Rome Pope 259–268	Succeeded by: Felix I

External links

• "Pope St. Dionysius" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.
• Opera Omnia

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