Both of the popes featured in this installment are remembered for honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary. Most of our time will be spent on the first, St. Celestine, who is important chiefly for his involvement in the Council of Ephesus, which confirmed the title of Mary as Mother of God.

This episode covers the 43rd pope, St. Celestine I (422-432), and the 44th, St. Sixtus III (432-440).

Links

Article version: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/popes-theotokos/

Way of the Fathers on the Council of Ephesus https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/24-ephesus-mother-all-controversies/

Way of the Fathers on Nestorianism https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/415-heresiesnestorianism-two-people-in-one/

Philip Hughes, The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils, 325-1870 https://clunymedia.com/collections/philip-hughes/products/the-church-in-crisis

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This installment of Lives of the Popes covers two popes of the early 5th century - Sts. Zosimus and Boniface I - the first of whom passed on multiple complicated situations for his successor to resolve. The greatest drama in Rome at this time, though, was the election of Pope St. Boniface I.

Article version https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/sword-peter/

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So far in this series, we've seen a number of examples of early popes exercising authority over bishops and churches outside of Rome, and even outside of the West. As the documentary record improves, this becomes even clearer, and the popes in this installment, especially St. Innocent I, are striking for the extent to which they asserted their prerogative to govern the entire global Church. We also see evidence of the ancient discipline of clerical continence, the first instance of a person being executed for heresy, and the beginning of the Pelagian controversy.

Covered in this episode are popes #38-40: St. Siricius, St. Anastasius I, and St. Innocent I.

Links

Article version https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/they-ruled-east-and-west/

Pope St. Siricius's Decretal to Himerius https://earlychurchtexts.com/public/siricius_decretal_to_himerius.htm

Way of the Fathers on the Pelagian heresy https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/413-heresiespelagianism-and-seeds-calvinism/

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Pope St. Damasus I (reigned 366-384) commissioned St. Jerome to make a new translation of the Bible, defended the Church against heresy, promoted the prestige and practical authority of the papacy, and wrote verse epitaphs for the Roman martyrs.

Links

Article version https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pope-st-damasus-patron-latin-bible/

"Defending St. Jerome's honor" https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/defending-st-jeromes-honor/

Relevant Way of the Fathers episodes:

Apollinarianism https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/414-heresiesapollinarius-monothelitism-human-suit/

Macedonianism https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/412-heresies-spirit-fighters-aftermath-nicaea/

First Council of Constantinople https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/23-first-constantinople-capital-council/

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Liberius (352-366) is not only the first pope in history not to be considered a saint in the Catholic Church, but is also often used by anti-Catholic critics to argue against papal infallibility - since he allegedly signed documents in favor of Arianism under duress from the emperor.

Article: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/first-non-sainted-pope/

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The widespread persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire was finally over for good, beginning the "Peace of the Church". But the "Peace" could only be so peaceful, as internal dissension took the place of external foes, in the form of the Arian Crisis.

This episode covers popes #33-35: Sts. Sylvester I, Mark, and Julius I.

Links

Way of the Fathers episodes:

Council of Nicaea https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/22-council-nicaea-first-and-foremost/

Arianism https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/411-heresies-arianism-man-who-became-god/

St. Athanasius https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-23athanasius-against-world/

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The first decade of the fourth century, from about 302 to 313, is one of the most remarkable in history. In that short time, the Church would go from the worst of persecutions to the beginning of an unprecedented new era of peace and favor. In what we might consider a foreshadowing of the Church's trials and final victory at the end of the world, the Great Persecution was merely the labor pains for the birth of Christendom.

This installment covers popes #29-32: Sts. Marcellinus, Marcellus I, Eusebius, and Miltiades.

Links

Article version of this episode https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/great-persecution/

Phillip Cambell, "The Public Apostasy of Pope Marcellinus" https://unamsanctamcatholicam.com/2024/01/15/the-public-apostasy-of-pope-marcellinus/

Way of the Fathers on Donatism https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/410-heresies-rebaptism-and-donatists/

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The popes in the middle of the third century experienced intense persecution by the emperors Decius and Valerius, but this suddenly gave way to a period of official and explicit toleration, which provided the Church with a foretaste of the lasting relief that was to come under Constantine.

This installment covers popes #24-28: Sts. Sixtus II, Dionysius, Felix I, Eutychian, and Gaius.

Links

Article https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/little-peace-church/

The Paradoxical Prestige of the Deacon in the Early Church https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/paradoxical-prestige-deacon-in-early-church/

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The three popes who reigned during this period all had to deal with serious divisions within the Church, especially over questions of how the Church should treat fallen-away Catholics who wished to return, as well as those who had been baptized by heretics and now wished to join themselves to the true Church. An important participant in these controversies, was St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who supported the positions of Pope Sts. Cornelius and Lucius, but clashed with the third, Pope St. Stephen.

This episode covers popes #21-23: Sts. Cornelius, Lucius I, and Stephen I.

Article: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/popes-lost-sheep/

Links

Related Way of the Fathers episodes:

• Novatian, Pt. 1 https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/48-novatian-good-bad-ugly-pt-1-good/
• Novatian, Pt. 2 https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/49-novatian-part-2-bad-and-ugly/
• Pope St. Stephen and the Sacraments https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pope-st-stephen-and-sacraments/
• Rebaptism and the Donatist heresy https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/410-heresies-rebaptism-and-donatists/
• St. Cyprian of Carthage https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-18-short-happy-life-cyprian-carthage/

Fr. Ray Ryland, "Will the Real St. Cyprian Please Stand?" https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/will-the-real-st-cyprian-please-stand

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The first four of the six popes covered in this installment found themselves in conflict with a priest named Hippolytus, the most brilliant intellectual of the Roman Church at the time. Hippolytus would become the first antipope in the history of the Church, plaguing three successive papacies with his schism. Yet his story has a happy and even poetic ending.

This episode covers popes #15-#20: Sts. Zephyrinus, Callistus I, Urban I, Pontian, Anterus, and Fabian.

Article https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/first-antipope/

Modalism https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/47-heresies-modalism-god-as-monad-with-three-names/

St. Hippolytus of Rome https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-17the-long-strange-trip-hippolytus-rome/

Leo XIII's encyclical on marriage https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/leo-xiii-on-what-marriage-owes-to-church/

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