The Church was served by 13 Roman Catholic popes in the 5th century. This was a historic time during which the downfall of the Roman Empire hastened toward its inescapable end.
The medieval period was complete chaos, and during this time the Roman Catholic 5th century Popes pursued to protect the early Christian Church and harden its guidelines and position in the world. These are:
- Anastasius I
- Pope Innocent I
- Pope Zosimus
- Pope Boniface I
- Pope Celestine I
- Pope Sixtus III
- Pope Leo I
- Pope Hilarius
- Pope Simplicius
- Pope Felix III
- Pope Gelasius I
- Pope Anastasius II
- Pope Symmachus
List of Roman Catholic Popes in the 5th Century
In this exclusive list, we have provided the details of all the 13 Roman Catholic popes that served the Churches in the 5th century.
Alternatively, there was the threat of the removal of the Eastern Church and the rival effect of Constantinople. These are;
1. Anastasius I
Anastasius I who was born in Rome, became popular because he convicted the workings of Origen without reading or understanding them.
Several dogmas of the early Christian theologian, Origen were against the Christian policies.
Origen followed such beliefs like the pre-existence of souls etc. which were condemned by one of the most popular popes in the 5th century, Anastasius I.
| Pope Number | 40 |
| Serving Duration (2 years) | 27th November 399 to 19th December 401. |
2. Pope Innocent I
Pope Innocent I was suspected by his current Jerome to have been the son of Pope Anastasius I, a privilege that has not once been fully supported.
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He became the pope when the control and power of the papacy had to deal with one of its most problematic tasks: the decline of Rome in 410 by Alaric I, the Visigoth king.
| Pope Number | 40 |
| Serving Duration (15 years) | 21st December 401 to 12th March 417 |
3. Pope Zosimus
Pope Zosimus is possibly best known for his heroine in the dispute over the unorthodoxy of Pelagianism, the policy that suggested that mankind’s fate is predetermined.
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Misled by Pelagius into proving his belief, Zosimus isolated many in the church.
| Pope Number | 41 |
| Serving Duration (1 year) | 18th March 417 to 25th December 418. |
4. Pope Boniface I
Previously a subordinate to Pope Innocent, Pope Boniface I, was a great supported of Augustine Pope and his fight against Pelagianism.
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Augustine in due course devoted numerous books and writings to Pope Boniface I.
| Pope Number | 42 |
| Serving Duration (3 years) | 28th December 418 to 4th September 422. |
5. Pope Celestine I
Pope Celestine I, was a firm guard of Catholic belief.
He chaired over the Council of Ephesus, which convicted the teachings of the Nestorians as profane, and he decided to follow the factions of Pelagius.
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Pope Celestine I, is also recognized for being the Pope who directed St. Patrick on his extraordinary task to Ireland.
| Pope Number | 43 |
| Duration (9 years, 10 months) | 10th September 422 to 27th July 432. |
6. Pope Sixtus III
Amazingly before becoming a Pope, Sixtus III was a believer of Pelagius who was later convicted as a heretic.
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Pope Sixtus III wanted to rectify divisions between conventional & unorthodox devotees, which were particularly fiery in the wake of the Council of Ephesus.
He is also the Pope extensively related with a renowned building boom in Rome and is liable for the prominent Santa Maria Maggiore, which remains a key tourist charm.
| Pope Number | 44 |
| Serving Duration (8 years) | 31st July 432 to 19th August 440. |
7. Pope Leo I
Pope Leo I, was popularly known as “the Great” as had a vital role to be played in the progress of the principle of papal supremacy and his substantial political successes.
A Roman noble afore becoming Pope, Leo is attributed with the conference with Attila the Hun and convincing him to unrestraint plans to sack Rome.
| Pope Number | 45 |
| Serving Duration (21 years) | August 440 to 10th November 461. |
8. Pope Hilarius
Hilarius throve a very prevalent and very lively pope among the popes in the 5th century.
This was not so simple task, but Hilarius had functioned carefully with Leo and made the purpose to perfect his papacy after that of his guide.
During his fairly short-term rule, Hilarius combined the control of the papacy over the churches of Gaul (France) and Spain, made several transformations in the rites.
He also was accountable for constructing and refining numerous churches.
| Pope Number | 46 |
| Serving Duration (6 years) | 17th November 461 to 29th February 468. |
9. Pope Simplicius
At the time when the last Roman Catholic Emperor of the west was overthrown by the German general Odoacer, Simplicius gained his position.
He was really powerful among the popes in the 5th century.
He supervised the Western Church throughout the dominance of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the guidance of Constantinople.
Hence, he was the first Pope not renowned by that division of the church.
| Pope Number | 47 |
| Serving Duration (15 years) | 3rd March 468 to 10th March 483. |
10. Pope Felix III
Pope Felix III was a very strict pope whose efforts to suppress the Monophysite unorthodoxy aided aggravate the rising rift between East and West.
Monophysitism is a policy by which Jesus Christ is seen as the amalgamation of heavenly and human.
The policy was held in high respect by the eastern church while being predestined as unorthodoxy in the west.
Pope Felix III even going so far as to exclude the headman of Constantinople, Acacius, for hiring a Monophysite bishop to the see of Antioch to substitute a traditional bishop.
Felix’s great-great-grandson would become Pope Gregory I.
| Pope Number | 48 |
| Duration (8 years, 11 months) | 13th March 483 to 1st March 492. |
11. Pope Gelasius I
Pope Gelasius I, was the 2nd Pope to come from Africa, among the Roman Catholic Popes in the 5th century.
He played a crucial role in the progress of papal supremacy, disagreeing that a pope’s divine rule was greater to the power of any king or ruler.
Bizarrely productive as an author for popes of this era, there is a massive body of inscribed work from Gelasius, still considered by researchers to this day.
| Pope Number | 49 |
| Duration (4 years, 8 months) | 1st March 492 to 21st November 496. |
12. Pope Anastasius II
Pope Anastasius II came to rule at a period when affairs between the Eastern and Western churches were at a predominantly at a low point.
His predecessor, Pope Gelasius I, had been persistent in his posture to the Eastern church front runners after his precursor, Pope Felix III, had barred the Father of Constantinople, Acacius, for swapping the Orthodox archbishop of Antioch with a Monophysite.
Anastasius made much growth toward the unification of the battle between the east and west branches of the church.
But died suddenly before it was fully determined, thus making a unique position among the popes in the 5th century.
| Pope Number | 50 |
| Serving Duration (2 years) | 24th November 496 to 19th November 498. |
13. Pope Symmachus
A transfigure from paganism, Pope Symmachus was voted mainly because of the backing of those who hated the activities of his precursor, Anastasius II.
It was not, however, undisputed voting, and his rule was noticeable by controversy among the Roman Catholic Popes in the 5th century.
| Pope Number | 51 |
| Serving Duration (15 years) | 22nd November 498 to 19th July 514. |
Who were the last five Roman Catholic Popes?
As per the list of the Roman Catholic Popes of the last 135 years, the last 5 popes should be;
- Pope Francis
- Pope Benedict XVI
- Pope John Paul II
- Pope John Paul I
- Pope Paul VI
Below is the exclusive list of the Roman Catholic Popes of the 20th and 21st centuries.
| Name of the Pope | Serving Duration |
| Pope Francis | 13th March 2013 till now |
| Benedict XVI | 19th April 2005 to 28th February 2013 |
| John Paul II | 16th October 1978 to 2nd April 2005 |
| John Paul I | 26th August to 28th September 1978. |
| Paul VI | 21st June 1963 to 6th August 1978. |
| John XXIII | 28th October 1958 to 3rd June 1963. |
| Pius XII | 2nd March 1939 to 9th October 1958. |
| Pius XI | 6th February 1922 to 10th February 1939. |
| Benedict XV | 3rd September 1914 to 22nd January 1922. |
| Pius X | 4th August 1903 to 20th August 1914. |
| Leo XIII | 20th February 1878 to 20th July 1903. |
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Conclusion – Roman Catholic Popes in the 5th Century
The historic time when the whole world saw the downfall of the Roman Empire, 13 Roman Catholic popes of the 5th served the Churches. Their efforts and teachings have an impeccable impact on the history of Christianity.