Early Life and Servitude
Callistus was born in Rome; one account places his origin in a Greek-descended noble family, while others simply describe him as a Roman. As a young slave he worked under a Christian master named Carpophorus and was entrusted with a bank collecting alms given by other Christians for the care of widows and orphans.
When these funds were lost, Callistus fled the city but was captured near Portus. He was later arrested during a disturbance in a synagogue, where he had gone to collect debts, was denounced as a Christian, and was sentenced to labor in the mines of Sardinia. He was freed along with other Christians at the request of Hyacinthus, a eunuch presbyter acting for Marcia, mistress of the Emperor Commodus.
In weakened health after his release, he was sent to Antium to recover and was granted a pension by Pope Victor I.
Deacon and Superintendent of the Catacombs
Under Pope Zephyrinus, Callistus was ordained deacon around 199 and appointed superintendent of the Christian cemetery on the Appian Way, thereafter known as the Catacomb of Callixtus. This site is described as the first landed property owned by the Church; nine bishops of Rome were later buried in its section called the Capella dei Papi.
He rose to the office of archdeacon and gained considerable influence in the Roman church, eventually succeeding Zephyrinus as bishop upon the latter's death.
Episcopate and Controversies
Elected Bishop of Rome around 217–218, Callistus instituted penitential policies regarded as lenient by his critics. He admitted converts from separatist sects without extensive penance and extended absolution to those guilty of grave sins, including adultery and murder.
These policies led Hippolytus of Rome to set himself up as a rival bishop, making him the first antipope; the theologian Tertullian was likewise among Callistus's critics. Callistus was additionally accused of the heresy of Sabellianism, a charge he denied.
Death
The circumstances of Callistus's death are uncertain. He may have been martyred around 222 or 223, possibly during a popular uprising and, by one account, by being thrown down a well; OrthodoxWiki notes there is no record of his suffering in a formal persecution, though he is venerated as a hieromartyr.
According to apocryphal accounts, a Roman priest named Asterius recovered the body from the well and buried Callistus by night. Asterius was subsequently arrested by the prefect Alexander and killed by being cast off a bridge into the Tiber.
Relics & Shrines
Callistus was buried in the cemetery of Calepodius on the Aurelian Way. His commemoration on October 14 is recorded in the fourth-century Depositio Martyrum and in later martyrologies.
In the ninth century his relics were translated to the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome.
