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During the first thousand years of the Church, including Saint Peter, there were 139 popes of the Church. This number does not include approximately 15 “anti-popes”, who at one time or another claimed the papacy. Vatican City has issued stamps picturing seven of the pontiffs from the first thousand years of the Church.  Pope Clement I: Return of Relics to Rome Scott 753 (1985) Clement I: served as pope from 88 AD to 99 AD. He was the first of the Apostolic Fathers of the Church, and a leader of the Church in Rome in the late 1st century. He was exiled from Rome and martyred, his body tied to an anchor and thrown into the Black Sea. The stamp showing Pope Clement depicts the return of his relics to Rome by Saints Cyril and Methodius (Scott 753).  Pope Sixtus II: Valerian Martyrs Issue Scott 257 (1959) Sixtus II: as Bishop of Rome for less than one year in 257 and 258, Sixtus II served during the vicious period of Roman persecution of Christians under the Emperor Valerian. The stamp shown (Scott 257) is part of a six-stamp set honoring the martyrs of the Valerian Persecutions. 
 Pope Sylvester I: Edict of Milan Issue Scott 1533-1534 (2013) Sylvester I: pope from 314 to 335 AD, Pope Sylvester served as pope during an important period in Church history as the Roman Persecutions of Christians came to an end under the Emperor Constantine with the Edict of Milan. The two stamps showing Pope Sylvester were issued to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan (Scott 1533 and 1534). 
 Pope Damasus I: 1600th Centenary of Death Issue Scott 749-751 (1984) Damasus I: during his papacy from 366 to 384 AD, Pope Damasus solidified the Catholic Church in Rome and encouraged the veneration of the Christian martyrs. The three-stamp set issued in 1984 on the 1600th anniversary of his death (Scott 749-751) illustrates his interest in honoring the martyrs through the preservation of the Roman catacombs. 
 Popes Adeodatus I and Zosimus Scott 1697-1698 (2018) Zosimus and Adeodatus I: these two obscure popes and saints were memorialized on a two-stamp set issued by the Vatican in 2018. Zosimus (Scott 1698) served one year as pope from 417 to 418, and Adeodatus I (Scott 1697) from 614 to 618 AD. 
 Pope Leo I (Leo the Great) Council of Chalcedon Issue Scott 150 and 152 (1951) 
 Pope Leo the Great 1500th Anniversary of Death Scott 301-302 (1961) Leo I (Leo the Great): as pope from 440 to 461 AD, Leo is remembered for persuading Attila the Hun to not invade Rome in 452, and for calling the Council of Chalcedon, which solidified Church Doctrine. Two stamp sets have been issued picturing Leo I. A five-stamp set was issued in 1951 to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of the Council of Chalcedon (Scott 150 and 152 show Pope Leo’s encounter with Attila the Hun). Ten years later, in 1961, two stamps honoring the 1500th anniversary of the death of Leo the Great (S. Leo Magnus) were issued, again showing his meeting with Attila the Hun. |
