How "back to the salt mines"-- honors today's 2 saints

Sardinia, Roman Territory—August 13, 235 A.D.

Two enemies sat together near the mouth of a Sardinian mine, the air thick with salt dust. The sunset turned the stone walls copper. Pope Pontian and Anti-Pope Hippolytus, leaned shoulder to shoulder, their chained movements in sync.

“How will we let Rome know we stand together?” Hippolytus’ voice cracked from thirst.

Pontian’s breath was shallow, “unity is harder than stone, but it is the Master’s will.”

Reconciliation of their souls was complete, though their earthly struggle was not. In their eyes, was the strange peace of men who had walked through fire, only to find each other on the other side.

Rome — 5 years prior

Long before their exile, Rome was restless. The Church was young and bruised from persecution.

• Pope Pontian was calm and steady but less flashy. His leadership style was different than those before him. He forgave the “lapsi,” those who buckled under Roman threats, to avoid martyrdom. Pontian believed mercy had a face.
• Both popes prior, Callixtus and Urban, also urged forgiveness to those who lapsed or denied their faith. Didn’t Jesus forgive (Pope) Peter for denying Him thrice?
• Meanwhile, the articulate Father Hippolytus burned with clarity, razor-sharp theology, and refusal to compromise. Mercy had limits. Were the martyr’s sacrifices in vain?

Interactions were tense. Fr. Hippolytus announced in the forum, “Truth must be guarded, even from shepherds who wander.”

Pope Pontian replied quietly, “And mercy must be granted, even to shepherds’ whose hearts have hardened.”

Scholarly Schisms

In addition to other circulating schisms, the scholar Fr. Hippolytus garnered power and followers despite no papal authority. Rome watched brilliant men pull the Church in opposite directions. In 218 A.D., Hippolytus became the first antipope.

• Hippolytus’ fans liked his uncompromising theology. As popes came and went, Hippolytus’ power snowballed until 5 years into Pontian’ papacy.
• Schismatic dramas drew attention of the pagan Roman emperor. Emperor Maximinus Thrax sentenced both men and other Christian leaders to hard labor in the salt mines, ensuring their certain death. What did that mean?
  • Sharp edges of salt crystal-dust scrapes lung tissue and causes abrasions, burning, micro-leaks and scarring.
  • Salt dust dehydrates, because it forces the body to redistribute fluid for dilution. The body expends more fluid trying to dilute and flush out the dust.
  • This triple-tap death mechanism — mechanical, chemical and physiological is a lucrative, yet efficient method of Roman torture.
• In his effort to restore the Bride of Christ—through a new conclave—Pontian was the first pope to abdicate. Yet, Pontian did nothing wrong. He was punished because the Roman Empire turned hostile to the Christians, not because of any personal fault or scandal. God’s plan for him was martyrdom and to bring Hippolytus’ soul with him to heaven. His hour had come.

The emperor’s soldiers seized both pope and antipope, and shipped them to Sardinia. The salt mines were infamous, for humbling the proud. Chains forced them to walk in step. Nearness forced them to listen. The labor forced them to breathe the same crystals, carry the same crosses, and share the same death.

Through God’s grace, their clashing charisms worked like a rock tumbler. Hippolytus’s clarity polished Pontian’s mercy; while Pontian’s mercy chiseled Hippolytus’s clarity. Their reconciliation was a miracle of rusty chains.

Final Forgiveness

The sun was low, a copper disc sinking behind the hills. They sat together near the entrance of the mine, backs against the stone wall, thirsting through painful, labored breathing.

St Pontian’s voice was barely a thread: “Rome must know we are one.”

St Hippolytus placed his hand over Pontian’s, a simple yet seismic gesture. “Then let peace be our message.”

After months of working up to mutual fellowship, co-spiritual directorship, co-confessors and finally co-anointers, Hippolytus’s soul was the first to depart. Pontian would succumb shortly thereafter. No one knows how it unfolded exactly, so artistic license was used to connect the dots. Yet, the early Church, under Pope Fabian, did memorialize their deaths together.

Pope Pontian was laid to rest in the papal crypt of the Callistus Catacombs. Father Hippolytus rests in his own cemetery on Via Tiburtina. Their feast day is August 13. They are the patron saints of Rome, schism, prison and prison guards.

Prayer for Forgiveness

Let pride dissolve and grace begin, to heal the rifts we hold within.
Where grinding grudges seldom sleep; in mines of anger, dark and deep.
Lord, steer our steps toward humbler ways, forgiveness shape our final days.

Like Hippolytus’ hope and Pontian’s Truth; please Lord, fix what we undo.
Make suffering soften souls of stone, turn hardened hearts to purest gold ... then
Angels flew two souls from earth, to join Christ in one Paschal birth.

Sources:

Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. Pope St Pontian.

Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. St. Hippolytus.

St Pontian & St Hippolytus | EWTN Great Britain

Sts Pontian & Hippolytus: Signs of Contradiction | Word on Fire