Editing Pope Urban I (section)

==Pontificate==
Much of Urban's life is shrouded in mystery, leading to many myths and misconceptions. Despite the lack of sources, he is the first [[pope]] whose reign can be definitely dated.<ref>Kung, Hans. ''The Catholic Church: A Short History''. New York; The Modern Library, 2003, p. 41</ref> Two prominent sources exist for Urban's pontificate: [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]]'s [[Church History (Eusebius)|history]] of the early Church and an inscription in the ''[[Catacomb of Callixtus|Coemeterium Callisti]]'' that names the Pope.<ref name="ce"/> Urban ascended to the papacy in 222, the year of Emperor [[Elagabalus]]'s assassination, and served during the reign of [[Alexander Severus]]. It is believed that Urban's pontificate took place during a peaceful time for Christians in the [[Roman Empire|Empire]] since Severus did not promote the [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution of Christianity]].<ref name="ce"/>

It is believed that the [[schism (religion)|schismatic]] [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]] was still leading a rival Christian congregation in Rome and that he published the ''[[Hippolytus of Rome#Writings|Philosophumena]]'', an attack on Urban's predecessor, [[Callixtus I]].<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia">{{CathEncy|id=15209a|title= Pope Urban I}}</ref> Urban is said to have maintained the hostile policy of Callixtus when dealing with the schismatic party.<ref name="ce"/>

Due to the relative freedoms the Christian community had during Severus's reign, the Church in Rome grew, which led to the belief that Urban was a skilled converter.<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia"/> A papal decree concerning the donations of the faithful at [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] is attributed to Pope Urban:
<blockquote>The gifts of the faithful that are offered to the Lord can only be used for ecclesiastical purposes, for the common good of the Christian community, and for the poor; for they are the consecrated gifts of the faithful, the atonement offering of sinners, and the patrimony of the needy.<ref>Roman Breviary</ref></blockquote>