Saint Anicetus succeeded Saint Pius I as the eleventh pope of the Catholic Church in AD155. Saint Anicetus was born in Emesa, Syria. He is believed to have been born in AD92.
He was a disciple of the Apostle John and maintained a warm relationship with the Patristic Father Saint Polycarp.
Soon after Pope Anicetus was ordained, Saint Polycarp persuaded him to follow the tradition of celebrating Easter on the 14th day of the month of Nisan as celebrated in Asian countries and as per Jewish tradition and asked that the tradition be allowed to continue. However, Saint Anicetus rejected Saint Polycarp's demand, saying he did not want to contradict the teachings of his predecessors and would follow their teachings and traditions as teachings from Christ.
Saint Anicetus prohibited priests from having long hair. He spoke out against the Gnostic faith that he viewed as a threat. Many of the men in this order had long hair. Historians believe that Anicetus forbid priests from having long hair to show that did not approve of that group.
Like his predecessors, he waged a relentless struggle against Gnosticism and Marcionism. These heresies that were eating away at the Church, and strongly opposed such heresies and those who taught them.
Pope Anicetus is believed to have been martyred in AD 166. Tradition holds that he was martyred on the orders of Roman Emperor Lucius Verus who co-ruled the empire with Marcus Arulleius who was his adopted brother. Unlike other martyred popes, there are no records to indicate how he died or where it occurred. Some believe that he was martyred because he encouraged others to practice Christianity rather than worship the Gods and idols that other Romans did.
Pope Anicetus was one of the first 35 popes canonized by the Church and now recognized as saints.
He was likely in his early to mid-70s at the time of his death. To honor him, the Church had his body moved and buried in the cemetery and tombs of Callixtus.
Prior to 1970, his feast was celebrated on April 17. The feast is now celebrated on April 20 in the Catholic Church.
-edit and trans. SM