Difference between revisions of "Pope Urban I" - New World Encyclopedia
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To Pope Urban is attributed a decree concerning the donations of the faithful at [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]]: | To Pope Urban is attributed a decree concerning the donations of the faithful at [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]]: | ||
<blockquote>"The gifts of the faithful that are offered to the Lord can only be used for ecclesiastical purposes, for the common good of the Christian community, and for the poor; for they are the consecrated gifts of the faithful, the atonement offering of sinners, and the patrimony of the needy."<ref>'''Roman Breviary'''</ref></blockquote> | <blockquote>"The gifts of the faithful that are offered to the Lord can only be used for ecclesiastical purposes, for the common good of the Christian community, and for the poor; for they are the consecrated gifts of the faithful, the atonement offering of sinners, and the patrimony of the needy."<ref>'''Roman Breviary'''</ref></blockquote> | ||
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| + | ==Biography== | ||
| + | According to the ''Liber Pontificalis,'' Urban was a Roman and his father's name was Pontianus. Beyound this, nothing is known of his early life. After the death of [[Callixtus I]] on October 14, 222 Urban was elected bishop of Rome, where he would serve for eight years, according to Eusebius (''Hist. eccl''., VI, 23). The document known as the the ''Liberian Catalogue of Popes'' puts the beginning of his pontificate in the year 223 and its close in the year 230. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The dissension produced in the Roman Church by Hippolytus, the bitter opponent of Callixtus, continued to exist during Urban's pontificate. Hippolytus and his adherents persisted in the schism with Hippolytus as their [[antipope]]. Tt was probably during the reign of Urban that Hippolytus wrote his "Philosophumena", in which he attacked Pope Callixtus, as well as his predecessor [[Zephyrinus]], severely. Urban maintained the same attitude towards the schismatic party and its leader that his predecessor had adopted. Later, during the papacy of ------ Hippolytus would reconcile himself to the main body of the Church and would eventually be recognized himself as a saint and martyr. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The historical tell us nothing of other factions troubling the life of the Roman Church during this era, but it is likely that they existed. Gnosticism, Montanism, Sabellianism, and Novatianism, for example, all continued the challenge the Church both before and after Urban's papacy. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In 222, shortly before Urban's election, [[Alexander Severus]] became Roman emperor. He favored a religious eclecticism and also protected Christianity. His mother, Julia Mammaea, was reputed to be a Christian, and was also a friend of the Alexandrian teacher [[Origen]], whom she summoned to [[Antioch]]. Hippolytus dedicated his work on the Resurrection to her. The result of the favorable opinion of Christianity held by the emperor and his mother was such that Christians enjoyed complete peace and were not persecuted, although their legal status was not changed. The major exception to this, if historically accurate, is the story which explains why Urban's election became necessary: the martyrdom of his predecessor Calixtus in an act of mob violence. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The historian Lampridius (Alex. Sever., c. xxii) says emphatically that Alexander made no trouble for the Christians: "''Christianos esse passus est''." The Roman Church indeed seems to have experienced the happy results of this policy and was otherwise unmolested, as far as we know, during this emperor's reign (222-235). Alexander Severus even protected Roman Christians in a legal dispute over the ownership of a piece of land. When they wished to build a church on a lot which was also claimed by tavern-keepers, the matter was brought before the imperial court, and Severus decided in favor of the Christians, declaring it was better that even the Christian god should be worshiped on that spot than that it be devoted to a revelry (Lampridius, "Alex. Sever.", c. xlix). | ||
| + | |||
| + | Unfortunately, Pope Urban left know personal writings and little is said of him in the historical sources. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The increase in extent of various Roman catacombs in the first half of the third century shows that Christians grew largely in numbers during this period. The legendary Acts of [[Saint Cecilia]] connect the saint with Urban, who is said to have baptized her husband and her brother-in-law. The Acts of the martyrdom of Urban himself, which are of still later date than the legend of St. Cecilia, must be considered apocryphal. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The "Liber Pontificalis" portrays Urban as an effective preacher who converted many by his sermons, but this rests on the Acts of Saint Cecilia. Another report tells us that Urban ordered the making of silver liturgical vessels, but this is thought to be invention of the editor of his biography early in the sixth century. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The particulars of the death of Urban are unknown. However, lacking a report of his martyrdom and judging from the peace of his era, he must have died a natural death. The ''Liber Pontificalis'' does state that he became a [[confessor]] during the reign of [[Diocletian]], however. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Two different statements are made in the early authorities as to the grave of Urban, of which, however, only one refers to the pope of this name. In the Acts of St. Cecilia and the "Liber Pontificalis" it is said that Pope Urban was buried in the Catacomb of Praetextatus on the Via Appia. The Itineraries of the seventh century to the graves of the Roman martyrs all mention the grave of an Urban in connexion with the graves of several martyrs who are buried in the Catacomb of Praetextatus. One of the Itineraries gives this Urban the title "Bishop and Confessor." Consequently, from the fourth century, all Roman tradition has venerated the pope of this name in the Urban of the Catacomb of Praetextatus. In excavating a double chamber of the Catacomb of St. Callistus, De Rossi found, however, a fragment of the lid of a sarcophagus that bore the inscription OUPBANOCE [piskopos]. He also proved that in the list of martyrs and confessors buried in the Catacomb of St. Callistus, drawn up by Sixtus III (432-40), the name of an Urban is to be found. The great archaeologist De Rossi therefore came to the conclusion that the Urban buried in St. Callistus was the pope, while the saint of the same name buried in St. Praetextatus was the bishop of another see who died at Rome and was buried in this catacomb. Most historians agree with this opinion, which, however, chiefly founded on the Acts of St. Cecilia. The lettering of the above-mentioned epitaph of an Urban in St. Callistus indicates a later period, as a comparison with the lettering of the papal epitaphs in the papal crypt proves. In the list prepared by Sixtus III and mentioned above, Urban is not given in the succession of popes, but appears among the foreign bishops who died at Rome and were buried in St. Callistus. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Thus it seems necessary to accept the testimony that Pope Urban was buried in the Catacomb of Praetextatus, while the Urban lying in St. Callistus is a bishop of a later date from some other city. This view best reconciles the statements of the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum". Under date of 25 May (VIII kal. Jun.) is to be found the notice: "Via nomentana miliario VIII natale Urbani episcopi in cimiterio Praetextati" ("Martyr. Hieronym.", ed. De Rossi-Duchesne, 66). The catacomb on the Via Nomentana, however, is that which contains the grave of Pope Alexander, while the Catacomb of Praetextatus is on the Via Appia. Duchesne has proved (Lib. Pontif., I, xlvi-xlvii) that in the list of graves of the popes from which this notice is taken a line dropped out, and that it originally stated that the grave of Pope Alexander was on the Via Nomentana, and the grave of Pope Urban on the Via Appia in the Catacomb of Praetextatus. Consequently 25 May is the day of the burial of Urban in this catacomb. As the same martyrology contains under the date of 19 May (XIV kal. Jun.) a long list of martyrs headed by the two Roman martyrs Calocerus and Partenius, who are buried in the Catacomb of St. Callistus, and including an Urban, this Urban is apparently the foreign bishop of that name who lies buried in the same catacomb. | ||
==Legend== | ==Legend== | ||
Revision as of 03:02, 14 June 2008
- "Saint Urban" redirects here. For other saints with this name, see Saint Urban (disambiguation).
| Urban I | |
|---|---|
| |
| Birth name | Urban |
| Papacy began | 222 |
| Papacy ended | 230 |
| Predecessor | Callixtus I |
| Successor | Pontian |
| Born | ??? Rome |
| Died | 230 Rome |
| Other popes named Urban | |
| Styles of Pope Urban I | |
| |
| Reference style | His Holiness |
| Spoken style | Your Holiness |
| Religious style | Holy Father |
| Posthumous style | Saint |
Pope Saint Urban I was pope from 222 to 230.
Born in Rome, Italy, he came to the See of Rome in the year that Roman Emperor Elagabalus was assassinated and served during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus. He had been preceded by Callixtus I and was followed by Pontian.
He is mentioned by Eusebius in his history and is named in an inscription in the Coemeterium Callisti, but of his life nothing is known. Urban was elected pope after the death of Callixtus I on 14 October 222.
Urban I is the first pope whose reign can be definitely dated.[1] Seven of his successors have taken his name.
To Pope Urban is attributed a decree concerning the donations of the faithful at Mass:
"The gifts of the faithful that are offered to the Lord can only be used for ecclesiastical purposes, for the common good of the Christian community, and for the poor; for they are the consecrated gifts of the faithful, the atonement offering of sinners, and the patrimony of the needy."[2]
Biography
According to the Liber Pontificalis, Urban was a Roman and his father's name was Pontianus. Beyound this, nothing is known of his early life. After the death of Callixtus I on October 14, 222 Urban was elected bishop of Rome, where he would serve for eight years, according to Eusebius (Hist. eccl., VI, 23). The document known as the the Liberian Catalogue of Popes puts the beginning of his pontificate in the year 223 and its close in the year 230.
The dissension produced in the Roman Church by Hippolytus, the bitter opponent of Callixtus, continued to exist during Urban's pontificate. Hippolytus and his adherents persisted in the schism with Hippolytus as their antipope. Tt was probably during the reign of Urban that Hippolytus wrote his "Philosophumena", in which he attacked Pope Callixtus, as well as his predecessor Zephyrinus, severely. Urban maintained the same attitude towards the schismatic party and its leader that his predecessor had adopted. Later, during the papacy of ------ Hippolytus would reconcile himself to the main body of the Church and would eventually be recognized himself as a saint and martyr.
The historical tell us nothing of other factions troubling the life of the Roman Church during this era, but it is likely that they existed. Gnosticism, Montanism, Sabellianism, and Novatianism, for example, all continued the challenge the Church both before and after Urban's papacy.
In 222, shortly before Urban's election, Alexander Severus became Roman emperor. He favored a religious eclecticism and also protected Christianity. His mother, Julia Mammaea, was reputed to be a Christian, and was also a friend of the Alexandrian teacher Origen, whom she summoned to Antioch. Hippolytus dedicated his work on the Resurrection to her. The result of the favorable opinion of Christianity held by the emperor and his mother was such that Christians enjoyed complete peace and were not persecuted, although their legal status was not changed. The major exception to this, if historically accurate, is the story which explains why Urban's election became necessary: the martyrdom of his predecessor Calixtus in an act of mob violence.
The historian Lampridius (Alex. Sever., c. xxii) says emphatically that Alexander made no trouble for the Christians: "Christianos esse passus est." The Roman Church indeed seems to have experienced the happy results of this policy and was otherwise unmolested, as far as we know, during this emperor's reign (222-235). Alexander Severus even protected Roman Christians in a legal dispute over the ownership of a piece of land. When they wished to build a church on a lot which was also claimed by tavern-keepers, the matter was brought before the imperial court, and Severus decided in favor of the Christians, declaring it was better that even the Christian god should be worshiped on that spot than that it be devoted to a revelry (Lampridius, "Alex. Sever.", c. xlix).
Unfortunately, Pope Urban left know personal writings and little is said of him in the historical sources.
The increase in extent of various Roman catacombs in the first half of the third century shows that Christians grew largely in numbers during this period. The legendary Acts of Saint Cecilia connect the saint with Urban, who is said to have baptized her husband and her brother-in-law. The Acts of the martyrdom of Urban himself, which are of still later date than the legend of St. Cecilia, must be considered apocryphal.
The "Liber Pontificalis" portrays Urban as an effective preacher who converted many by his sermons, but this rests on the Acts of Saint Cecilia. Another report tells us that Urban ordered the making of silver liturgical vessels, but this is thought to be invention of the editor of his biography early in the sixth century.
The particulars of the death of Urban are unknown. However, lacking a report of his martyrdom and judging from the peace of his era, he must have died a natural death. The Liber Pontificalis does state that he became a confessor during the reign of Diocletian, however.
Two different statements are made in the early authorities as to the grave of Urban, of which, however, only one refers to the pope of this name. In the Acts of St. Cecilia and the "Liber Pontificalis" it is said that Pope Urban was buried in the Catacomb of Praetextatus on the Via Appia. The Itineraries of the seventh century to the graves of the Roman martyrs all mention the grave of an Urban in connexion with the graves of several martyrs who are buried in the Catacomb of Praetextatus. One of the Itineraries gives this Urban the title "Bishop and Confessor." Consequently, from the fourth century, all Roman tradition has venerated the pope of this name in the Urban of the Catacomb of Praetextatus. In excavating a double chamber of the Catacomb of St. Callistus, De Rossi found, however, a fragment of the lid of a sarcophagus that bore the inscription OUPBANOCE [piskopos]. He also proved that in the list of martyrs and confessors buried in the Catacomb of St. Callistus, drawn up by Sixtus III (432-40), the name of an Urban is to be found. The great archaeologist De Rossi therefore came to the conclusion that the Urban buried in St. Callistus was the pope, while the saint of the same name buried in St. Praetextatus was the bishop of another see who died at Rome and was buried in this catacomb. Most historians agree with this opinion, which, however, chiefly founded on the Acts of St. Cecilia. The lettering of the above-mentioned epitaph of an Urban in St. Callistus indicates a later period, as a comparison with the lettering of the papal epitaphs in the papal crypt proves. In the list prepared by Sixtus III and mentioned above, Urban is not given in the succession of popes, but appears among the foreign bishops who died at Rome and were buried in St. Callistus.
Thus it seems necessary to accept the testimony that Pope Urban was buried in the Catacomb of Praetextatus, while the Urban lying in St. Callistus is a bishop of a later date from some other city. This view best reconciles the statements of the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum". Under date of 25 May (VIII kal. Jun.) is to be found the notice: "Via nomentana miliario VIII natale Urbani episcopi in cimiterio Praetextati" ("Martyr. Hieronym.", ed. De Rossi-Duchesne, 66). The catacomb on the Via Nomentana, however, is that which contains the grave of Pope Alexander, while the Catacomb of Praetextatus is on the Via Appia. Duchesne has proved (Lib. Pontif., I, xlvi-xlvii) that in the list of graves of the popes from which this notice is taken a line dropped out, and that it originally stated that the grave of Pope Alexander was on the Via Nomentana, and the grave of Pope Urban on the Via Appia in the Catacomb of Praetextatus. Consequently 25 May is the day of the burial of Urban in this catacomb. As the same martyrology contains under the date of 19 May (XIV kal. Jun.) a long list of martyrs headed by the two Roman martyrs Calocerus and Partenius, who are buried in the Catacomb of St. Callistus, and including an Urban, this Urban is apparently the foreign bishop of that name who lies buried in the same catacomb.
Legend
The story that was once included in the Catholic Church's Breviary on 25 May speaks of his numerous converts, among whom were Valerianus, husband of Saint Cecilia, and his brother Tiburtius, and states that he suffered martyrdom and was buried in the Coemetarium Praetextati. In reality Pope Urban I, whose feast as a saint is on 19 May,[3] but was confused with a Saint Urban whose feast was on 25 May and whom the ancient liturgical books describe as a martyr bishop of a place near Rome.[4]
The Urban of legend was credited with the miracle of toppling an idol through prayer.[5] It is claimed that after this act Urban was beaten and tortured before being sentenced to death by beheading.
He is invoked against storm and lightning and represented by: Vine and grapes; a fallen idol beneath broken column; a scourge; a stake and his severed head.
Art
Urban is found in various pieces of artwork that present him as a composite of these two Urbans. Often he is found sitting wearing the Papal Tiara, Papal robes and holding a sword pointed towards the ground. An example of such a depiction. Otherwise Urban may be portrayed wearing Papal garb and a Bishop's Mitre whilst holding a bible and a bunch of grapes. Examples: 1 and 2
Other less common depictions of Pope Urban are:
- after his beheading, with the papal tiara near him.
- as idols fall from a column while he is beheaded;
- scourged at the stake;
- seated in a landscape as a young man (Saint Valerian) kneels before him and a priest holds a book.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- ↑ Kung, Hans. The Catholic Church: A Short History. New York; The Modern Library, 2003, p. 41
- ↑ Roman Breviary
- ↑ Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
- ↑ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 124
- ↑ Roman Breviary: Saint Urban began to make his orison to God; and anon the idol fell down and slew twenty-two priests of the law that held fire for to make sacrifice.
| Roman Catholic Popes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Callixtus I |
Bishop of Rome Pope 222–230 |
Succeeded by: Pontian |
| ||||||||||||||||
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