TODAY'S SAINT (Anastasius I)

ANASTASIUS I

(d. 401)

Pope and martyr

Anastasius, son of Maximus, was a mative of Rome. A priest in the Roman Church, he was elected the successor of Pope St. Sircius (r. 384-399) on November 27, 399.

Anastasius is known for his personal holiness and piety and for some important ecclesiastical pronouncements. He is responsible for the instruction to priests to read the Gospels standing and bowing their heads. In 400, he convened a synod to consider the writings of Origen, and upheld the council's condemnation of the work as heterodox. He also suppirted the Church in North Africa in its struggle against Donatism, a schism that lasted from about 311 to 411.

Anastasius died in 401 after a reign of only two years and was buried in the Pontian catacombs. Although his death was natural, he is honored in the Roman Martyrology.

Feast: December 19