Pope Fabian
| Saint Fabian | |
|---|---|
| |
| Birth name | Fabianus |
| Papacy began | January 236 |
| Papacy ended | January 20, 250 |
| Predecessor | Anterus |
| Successor | Cornelius |
| Born | ???
??? |
| Died | January 20 250 Rome, Italy |
| Styles of Pope Fabian | |
| |
| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | Saint |
Pope Saint Fabian was Pope, or Bishop of Rome, from January 236 to January 20, 250, succeeding Pope Anterus. He is famous for the miraculous nature of his election, in which a dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit's unexpected choice to become the next pope. He was succeeded by Cornelius.
He is said to have baptized the emperor Philip and his son, to have done some building in the catacombs, to have improved the organization of the church in Rome, and to have appointed officials to register the deeds of the martyrs.
According to "later accounts, more or less trustworthy" according to the Catholic Encyclopedia he sent out the "apostles to the Gauls" to Christianize Gaul after the persecutions under Emperor Decius had all but dissolved the small Christian communities. Fabian sent out seven bishops from Rome to Gaul to preach the Gospel: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturnin to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Austromoine to Clermont, and Martial to Limoges. He also had the bodies of Hippolytus of Rome and Pope Pontian brought from Sardinia to Rome. He was made a martyr during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Decius, one of the first to die then, on January 20, 250, and was buried in the catacomb of Callixtus. The Greek inscription on his tomb has survived.[1]
His deeds are thus described in the Liber Pontificalis: Hic regiones dividit diaconibus et fecit vii subdiacones, qui vii notariis imminerent, Ut gestas martyrum integro fideliter colligerent, et multas fabricas per cymiteria fieri praecepit. ("He divided these regions into deaconships and made seven sub-deaconships which seven secretaries oversaw, so that they brought together the deeds of the martyrs faithfully made whole, and he brought forth many works in the cemeteries.")
Although there is very little authentic information about Fabian, there is evidence that his episcopate was one of great importance in the history of the early church. He was highly esteemed by Cyprian, bishop of Carthage; Novatian refers to his nobilissima memoriae, and he corresponded with Origen. One authority refers to him as Flavian.
St. Fabian's feast day is commemorated on January 20.[2]
Biography
According the Liber Pontificalis, Fabian was a Roman by birth, and his father's name was Fabius. The legend concerning the circumstances of his election are preserved by the fourth century writer Eusebius of Caesair (Church History VI.29). After the short reign of Pope Anterus, he had come to Rome from the countryside when the new election began. "Fabian, although present," says Eusebius, "was in the mind of none." While the names of several illustrious and noble churchmen were being considered, a dove suddenly descended upon the head of Fabian. To the assembled electors, the sight recalled the Gospel scene of the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at the time of his baptism. Believe the current dove's flight to be divinely inspired, they unanimiously chose Fabian to be the next pope.
During Fabian's reign of 14 years, there was a lull in the storm of persecution which had resulted in the exile of both Aterus' predecessor Pontian and his rival, the antipope and later Saint Hegissypus. Fabian had enough influence at court to effect the return the bodies of both of these martyrs from Sardinian, where they had died at hard labor in the mines. It was also probably during his reign that the congregation of Hegissypus was brought back into communion with the main body of the Roman church.
The Liber Pontificalis says that he divided Rome into seven districts, each supervised by a deacon. He also reportedly appointed seven subdeacons to help collect the acta of the martyrs—the reports of the court-proceedings on the occasion of their trials (cf. Eus., VI, 43). There is a also tradition that he instituted the four minor orders: porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte. However most scholars believe these office evolved gradually and were formally instituted at a later date.
Fabian initiated considerable in the catacombs, where he also caused the body of Pope Pontian to be entombed at the catacomb St. Callixtus at Rome. Later accounts attribute to him the consecration (245) of seven bishops as missionaries to Gaul, among them Saint Denys of Paris. St. Cyprian mentions (Ep., 59) the condemnation by Fabian for heresy of a certain Privatus (Bishop of Lambaesa) in Africa. The famous Origen did not hesitate to defend, before Fabian, the orthodoxy of his teaching (Eusebius, Church History VI.34). Fabian died a martyr (20 Jan., 250) at the beginning of the Decian persecution, and was buried in the Crypt of the Popes in the catacomb of St. Callistus, where in recent times (1850) De Rossi discovered his Greek epitaph (Roma Sotterranea II, 59): "Fabian, bishop and martyr." The decretals ascribed to him in Pseudo-Isidore are apocryphal.
Prayer
Pope Saint Fabian, it's so easy to believe that peace means a life without conflict or suffering. Help us to see that the only true peace is the peace Christ brings. Never let us as a Church or as individual Christians choose to deny our beliefs simply to avoid an unpleasant situation. Amen
| Roman Catholic Popes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Anterus |
Bishop of Rome Pope 236–250 |
Succeeded by: Cornelius |
Notes
<ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named AttwaterReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
from a 1911 encyclopedia
External links
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