**ANASTASIUS I**, pope, saint. - A Roman by birth, he succeeded Siricius and was pope from 26 Nov. 399 to 19 Dec. 401. His brief pontificate was entirely absorbed by the original controversy (see ORIGEN) that unfolded in the West between Rufinus of Aquileia, translator and corrector of Origen’s *Ἵεραpxία*, and St. Jerome, whom Rufinus reminded had once been an admirer of the great Alexandrian scholar. Anastasius, alarmed by Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, and urged by Eusebius of Cremona, condemned the writings of Origen, writing to the bishop of Milan, where Rufinus had meanwhile taken refuge (Jaffé-Wattenbach, I, p. 43, no. 281; II, p. 691). Rufinus responded with a self-defense that reached the pope in 400 (letters of the pope and Rufinus’ defense: PL 21, 623 ff.). To John, bishop of Jerusalem, who had consulted him on the matter, Anastasius also replied by condemning Origen and leaving to God’s judgment Rufinus’ intention in offering the Latin West his translation (Jaffé-Wattenbach, I, p. 43, no. 282, cf. also no. 284). Yet he took no measures against Rufinus personally.
Anastasius also addressed the Donatist schism, sending a letter to the Synod of Carthage in 401 in which he suggested a benevolent treatment of priests and bishops who returned to the fold.
The *Liber Pontificalis* (ed. L. Duchesne, I, pp. 218–19) states that Anastasius prescribed that priests should stand with bowed heads while the deacon read the Gospel. His feast is celebrated on 27 April, according to the erroneous date in the *Liber Pontificalis*.
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