Natalius was a figure in early church history who is sometimes considered to be the first

antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...

of his birthplace of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The only information about Natalius is a quote from an unnamed earlier writer by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

, telling of a 3rd-century priest who accepted the

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the Adoptionists, which was seen as a heretical group in Rome. Natalius soon repented and tearfully begged

Pope Zephyrinus Pope Zephyrinus was the bishop of Rome from the year 199 until his death on 20 December 217. He was born in Rome, and succeeded Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor, Callixtus I. He is known fo ...

to receive him into communion. According to the accounts, Natalius became the head of this Christian community, due to the influence of the theologians, Asclepiodotus (Theologian) and Theodotus the Younger, disciples of Theodotus of Byzantium. Theodotus had been excommunicated in 190 by

Pope Victor I Pope Victor I (died 199) was a Roman African prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Rome in the late second century. The dates of his tenure are uncertain, but one source states he became pope in 189 and gives the year of h ...

for his teachings, and this caused a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

, albeit of small proportions, within the Church. Theodotus, a leather merchant and a scholar of Greek culture, argued that Jesus was at first an ordinary man, in whom the Logos, God or the Wisdom of God dwelt "as in a temple", as it had been with

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

and the prophets. This had happened at his baptism, when he received the divine grace or adoption (dynamis) and thus became equally divine, his divinity being inferior to that of the Father (God or

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...

). This doctrine, called dynamic monarchianism, was both Ebionistic and Adhocianistic.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natalius Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Antipopes 2nd-century Romans 2nd-century antipopes Year of birth uncertain

See also

Notes