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Forgive me for my ignorance, but isn't this one of the textbook cases of hagiographical confusion? (As I recall, the textbook was by Delehaye.) The tearing apart by wild horses is obviously a reminiscence of the mythic Hippolytus, and the historical Hippolytus (the antipope who wrote the 'Apostolic Tradition') is usually distinguished from the one mentioned in the Laurentian Acta. Or am I out of date? Bruce McClintock -----Original Message----- From: Bill East <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Saturday, 14 August 1999 5:40 Subject: Re: FEAST 13 August >At 15:53 13/08/99 +0100, you wrote: >> >>Today, 13 August, is the feast of ... >> >>* Hippolytus, martyr (c. 235) - according to the acta of st Laurence (cf >>FEAST 10 August), this was the officer in charge of Laurence when he was >>in prison, and was by him converted and baptized; in keeping with >>someone whose name means 'loosed horse', he was sentenced to be torn >>apart by horses > >Something wrong here, surely; this Hippolytus was perhaps the only Antipope >to have achieved canonisation. He is commemorated nowadays along with St >Pontian, the Pope, Hippolytus's fellow-martyr, who is perhaps the only Pope >to have abdicated. > >Hippolytus, a rigorist, allowed himself to be named as Pope in opposition to >Pontian's predecessor, Callistus, whom he regarded as too lax in his >treatment of sinners. > >Both Hippolytus and Pontian were exiled to work in the quarries of Sardinia, >where they were reconciled. Both died as a result of their harsh treatment, >and are considered to be martyrs. > >Hippolytus was the author of a work of considerable interest, the "Apostolic >Tradition". It contains a eucharistic prayer (printed in Bettenson, >"Documents of the Christian Church" p. 106) which is the basis of the modern >Second Eucharistic Prayer. > >Oriens. > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%