Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Thursday, February 9
    Trending
    • This Day in History on February 9th
    • History Short: Famous Marches
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through February 8th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on February 8th
    • History Short: Off With her Head!
    • What Grade Would You give President Biden’s Second State of the Union Address?
    • This Day in History on February 7th
    • History Short: When Was the First Untethered Space Walk?
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Society»Religion»The Pope who Resigned and Became a Miner
    Religion

    The Pope who Resigned and Became a Miner

    Dr. ZarBy Dr. ZarSeptember 28, 2013Updated:May 30, 202059 Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    Pontian

    A Brief History

    On September 28, 235 A.D., Pope Pontian became the first pope to resign his office, only to live out his days exiled to the mines of Sardinia!

    Digging Deeper

    When Pope Benedict XVI resigned his papacy in 2013, he was the first pope to do so since 1415.  In fact, he was one of only a handful of popes to ever resign.  Out of the 266 popes who have led Roman Catholicism, only six have ever abdicated.  Pope Emeritus Benedict actually retains various aspects of his former office and probably lives under better conditions than many people around the world, but that was hardly the case for Pontian.  Indeed, Pope Saint Pontian had a far, far worse fate than Benedict XVI when Pontian made his fateful decision nearly two thousand years ago today.

    Benedict XVI in a popemobile at his final Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on 27 February 2013

    Pontian served as the head of the Catholic Church from July 21, 230 to September 28, 235 A.D.  Most of his reign was uneventful and even quite peaceful.  Then Roman Emperor Alexander Severus (r. March 11, 222 – March 19, 235 A.D.) did not persecute Christians in any extreme manner.  Unfortunately for both the emperor and the pope, an ambitious giant of a man had other ideas.

    According to Historia Augusta, this ambitious man, Maximinus Thrax (c. 173 – 238 A.D.), “was of such size, so Cordus reports, that men said he was eight foot, six inches in height.”

    Bust of Maximinus Thrax in Capitoline Museums, Rome

    His willingness to commit brutality rivaled his imposing physique.  He seized power by killing both Emperor Alexander and his mother.  Thrax then reversed his predecessor’s tolerant policy toward Christians.

    Amid the turmoil, Pontian and another leading church official, Hippolytus of Rome, were both sentenced together to hard labor in the mines of Sardinia.  Facing such a sentence, Pontian became the first pope in history to resign.  Neither he nor Hippolytus survived the year while working in the dreaded mines.  According to legend, they may have even died martyrs.  Medieval images, for example, depict Hippolytus being dragged to death by wild horses (for some reason it is much harder to find images depicting the death of Pontian).  Yet, despite their deaths, legends only grew as various miracles were attributed to both men, earning them eventual recognition as saints.

    Imaginary portrait from Artaud de Montor’s The Lives and Times of the Popes, 1910

    As for Max Thrax, his reign only lasted until 238 A.D. when disgruntled soldiers in his camp assassinated him, his son, and his chief ministers.  The soldiers then cut off their victims’ heads, placed these heads on poles, and carried them to Rome.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Do you have a favorite pope from history?  If so, who and why?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    To learn more about this time period, the aforementioned Augustan History is one of the most entertaining primary sources from antiquity.  For more objective and scholarly secondary accounts of Pontian and Hippolytus, we encourage you to consider one of the numerous encyclopedias of saints available from Amazon.com and other fine places where books are sold.

    Kelly, J. N. D. and Michael Walsh.  A Dictionary of Popes (Oxford Quick Reference).  Oxford University Press, 2010.

    The featured image in this article is a faithful representation of an icon inside the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls: the author(s) is unknown and the image itself dates back to circa 1850 (reconstruction of the basilica under pope Pius IX). As such it falls in the public domain. See popechart.com for documentation.  This faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art is in the public domain for the following reason: this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or less.  This work is in the public domain in the United States, because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleCovering up the Largest Loss by a USAAF Group in World War II
    Next Article Did a “Magus” really impersonate the Persian king?
    Dr. Zar
    • Website

    Dr. Zar graduated with a B.A. in French and history, a Master’s in History, and a Ph.D. in History. He currently teaches history in Ohio.

    Related Posts

    History Short: Why Did They Call Her “Bloody Mary?”

    February 4, 2023

    History Short: What is the Axis of Evil?

    January 29, 2023

    History Short: Who Succeeded Henry VIII as King of England?

    January 28, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on February 9th

    February 9, 2023

    History Short: Famous Marches

    February 9, 2023

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through February 8th, 2023)

    February 8, 2023

    This Day in History on February 8th

    February 8, 2023

    History Short: Off With her Head!

    February 8, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.