Pius Rufinus

Born [date unknown] in Aquileia, Roman Empire

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Biography

Pope St Pius I Rufinus is Notable.

Pius, son of Rufinus, was born in Aquileia, Roman Empire. He was the brother of Hermas, the Shepherd of Hermas. They were both freedmen.^[1][2]

Pius was consecrated Bishop of Rome in 142 or 146^[1] during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius. He was still Bishop of Rome under Marcus Aurelius. As the ninth successor of Saint Peter, he decreed that Easter should only be observed on a Sunday.^[2]

During his pontificate Saint Justin taught Christian doctrine in Rome.^[2]

His pontificate ended with his death in either 157 or 161.^[1]

Flocknote Popes in a Year ^[3] tells us:

A second-century document called the Muratorian Fragment -- which also contains the oldest known list of New Testament books -- reads, “in our times, while bishop Pius ... was occupying the chair of the church of the city of Rome.” St. Irenaeus also lists Pius I in Adversus haeresis.

Pius had a brother named Hermas, who was the author of a famous early Christian work called The Shepherd. He may also have known St. Polycarp, a disciple of St. John (yes, THE St. John). His feast day is July 11.

Like his predecessor St. Hyginus, St. Pius had to deal with those pesky heretics, Cerdo and Valentinus, as well as their buddy Marcion. Cerdo and Valentinus were Gnostics, teaching a system that basically pitted matter and spirit against each other (as opposed to matter and spirit being both good gifts of God).

But Marcion was a special kind of heretic. After hearing that Marcion preached the existence of two gods, only one of which was the father of Jesus, St. Pius said, “Not in my house!” (we’re paraphrasing) and excommunicated him.

Pius I was the only "Pope Pius" for over 1300 years until Pius II was elected in 1458. It's easily the longest stretch between popes sharing the same name in the history of the papacy.

Around 150 A.D., the earliest known atlas, Geography, was produced by Ptolemy.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Vatican
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Wikipedia Pope Pius I
3. ↑ Flocknote Popes in a Year
   SOURCES (and further reading)
   - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12126b.htm
   - http://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Pius-I
   - http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103303.htm
   - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09645c.htm
   - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_I