Today is the feast of St. Pontian and St. Hippolytus. I've talked here before about this amazing story. Saint Pontian was a Pope, and Saint Hippolytus was the first anti-pope. That's right, the first anti-pope is a saint!
Hippolytus was a priest who wrote some valuable works on the liturgy of the early Church, but he didn't like how the sacrament of Reconciliation was developing. He didn't like that the hierarchy was forgiving people who had yielded to the civil authorities during persecution. He said that Pope Callistus and Pope Zephyrinus (also saints) were heretical and had himself elected as pope in opposition. During the reign of Pontian, both Pope and anti-pope were arrested by the Pagan government and enslaved in a mine. There, Hippolytus repented and Pontian gave him forgiveness, and they both died there from abuse and harsh conditions, martyrs.
So, I'd been looking forward to doing this page.
If you'd like pages like this of every saint's day, check out this project here.
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