Pope Soter

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Early Church
Papacy beganc. 167
Papacy ended174
PredecessorAnicetus
SuccessorEleutherius
Personal details
Born
Fondi, Campania, Roman Empire
Diedc. 174
Rome, Roman Empire
Sainthood
Feast day22 April

Pope Soter (

bishop of Rome from c. 167 to his death in c. 174.[1] According to the Annuario Pontificio, the dates may have ranged from 162–168 to 170–177.[2] He was born in Fondi, Campania, today in the Lazio region of Italy.[3] Soter is known for declaring that marriage was valid only as a sacrament blessed by a priest and also for formally inaugurating Easter as an annual festival in Rome.[4]
His name, from Greek Σωτήριος from
baptismal name, as his lifetime predates the tradition of adopting papal names
.

Roman Martyrology

Saint Soter's

feast day is celebrated on 22 April, as is that of Saint Caius.[5] The Roman Martyrology, the official list of recognized saints, references Soter: "At Rome, Saint Soter, Pope, whom Dionysius of Corinth praises for his outstanding charity towards needy exiled Christians who came to him, and towards those who had been condemned to the mines."[5]

It has often been supposed that all the earliest Popes suffered martyrdom, but the Roman Martyrology does not give Pope Soter the title of martyr.[5] The book detailing the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar states: "There are no grounds for including Saint Soter and Saint Caius among the martyrs."[6]

Reaction to the Montanist movement

The

Bishop of Lyon
. It appears from statements of Eusebius concerning these letters that the Christians of Lyon, though opposed to the Montanist movement, advocated patience and pleaded for the preservation of ecclesiastical unity.

When the Roman church took its definite stand against Montanism is not precisely known.

Marcionites continued to preach against the Catholic Church
.

See also

References

  1. ^ Chapman, John (1908). "Caius and Soter, Saints and Popes" in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. ISBN 978-88-209-8722-0
    ), p. 8*
  3. ^ "Biography: Pope Soter". Archived from the original on 2006-10-09. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  4. ^ Pope Saint Soter » Saints.SQPN.com
  5. ^
    ISBN 88-209-7210-7
    )
  6. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 120
  7. ^ Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, 5.3.4; translated by G.A. Williamson, Eusebius: The History of the Church (Harmonsworth: Penguin, 1965), p. 206
  8. ^ Adversus Praxeam, 1
  9. ^ Pseudo-Augustine, Praedestinatorum Haeresis, 1.26
Titles of the Great Christian Church
Preceded by
Bishop of Rome

167–175 		Succeeded by
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