Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology: The Commentary on the Song of Songs

Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology: the contribution of the Roman martyr (†235) to early Mariology, with emphasis on the commentary on the Song of Songs.

Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology: Introduction

Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology occupies a unique place in the patristic Mariology of the third century. Hippolytus of Rome (†235), martyr and antipope, left a Marian body of work that is fragmentary but exceptionally rich. The study of Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology sheds light on the transition from the Mariology of the second century (Justin, Irenaeus) to that of the fourth century (Athanasius, the Cappadocians).

I. Who Was Hippolytus of Rome?

To situate Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology, let us recall who he was: a presbyter of Rome, a teacher of theology in Greek, a prolific writer, and a martyr under the emperor Maximinus. At odds with Popes Callistus, Urban, and Pontian, he was reconciled with the Church before his martyrdom. Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology developed in this context.

II. Hippolytus’s Commentary on the Song of Songs

The central text for studying Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology is the Commentary on the Song of Songs. Hippolytus interprets the Song in a twofold sense: ecclesiological (Christ and the Church) and Marian (Christ and Mary). It is one of the earliest witnesses to the Marian exegesis of the Song, which was to become common in the tradition. Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology precedes that of Origen, Ambrose, and Bernard.

III. Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology: Mary, the New Ark

Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology develops the typology of Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant. Just as the Ark contained the tablets of the Law, the manna, and the rod of Aaron, Mary contains within herself the Incarnate Word, the living bread come down from heaven, the high priest of the new covenant. This insight of Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology would be taken up and expanded by the entire Marian tradition.

IV. Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology: Virginity and Motherhood

Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology clearly affirms the perpetual virginity of Mary and her true motherhood. Hippolytus argues against the adoptionists and the modalists: the Son of God was truly born of the Virgin, without detriment to her virginity. Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology prepares the way for the definition of Ephesus.

V. The Present-Day Importance of Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology

To recover Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology is to restore to its rightful place one of the richest voices of pre-Ephesian patristic Mariology. Hippolytus of Rome’s Mariology is a source for Marian typology, for the Marian exegesis of the Song, and for the theology of virginity. Consult the Vatican.va website and the patristic studies of Locus Mariologicus.

Deepen your studies: explore the Mariology portal, Marian Theology, and patristic Mariology at Locus Mariologicus.