Hieromartyr Hieromartyr Hippolytus of Rome

Hieromartyr Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170–235) was one of the most important early Christian writers, a Roman presbyter probably of eastern origin, and a disciple of St. Irenaeus of Lyons. He wrote major polemical works against heresies (the "Refutation of All Heresies"), Easter tables, biblical commentaries, and the liturgical treatise "Apostolic Tradition."

In the early 3rd century he clashed with Popes Zephyrinus and Callixtus over discipline and Trinitarian doctrine, leading his own community while styled "bishop," by some accounts of Portus, near Rome. In 235, during Emperor Maximinus Thrax's persecution, he was exiled with Pope Pontian to the mines of Sardinia, where tradition holds he reconciled with the Church shortly before death.

Both martyrs' bodies were returned to Rome and buried under Pope Fabian. In 1551 a marble statue was found near the Via Tiburtina, its base inscribed in Greek with a list of his works and a paschal canon; restored as a bearded man, it is now in the Vatican Library and traditionally identified as Hippolytus.