Zosimus (father)

Zosimius was the 41st.er pope of the Church Catholic, between 417 and 418.

Biography

The pontificate of this pope was brief, eventful, and marked by difficulties and setbacks. He was born in Mesoraca, Calabria, although according to the Liber Pontificalis, Zosimus was Greek. He was elected pope on March 18, 417. There were two important events during his papacy. The first is that he appointed Patroclus as metropolitan bishop of Arles against the advice of all the bishops in the region. The second was that Pelagius and Celestius, condemned by two councils for their heresies, appealed to Zosimus, who acquitted them. These had already been condemned by the previous pope, Innocent I. It seems that Zosimus was too accommodating, perhaps because he was very impulsive in his decisions.

The inclusion of this pope in the list of saints is possibly due to the pen of Ado of Vienna, who on a pilgrimage to Rome, stopping in Ravenna, discovered an ancient Roman martyrology that he used to edit a new version in 858, in which he included many names without further study or reflection.

Zosimus died on December 26, 418. He was buried in the Basilica of Lorenzo in the city of Rome.