Pope Sixtus II
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Pope Sixtus II (), also written as Pope Xystus II, was bishop of Rome from 31 August 257 until his death on 6 August 258. He was killed along with seven
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
s, including
Lawrence of Rome Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...
, during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Valerian.


Life

According to the ''
Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...
'', he was a Greek, born in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, and was formerly a
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
. However, this is uncertain, and is disputed by modern Western historians arguing that the authors of ''Liber Pontificalis'' confused him with the contemporary author Xystus, who was a Greek student of
Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek co ...
. Sixtus II restored the relations with the African and Eastern churches, which had been broken off by his predecessor over the question of heretical
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
raised by the heresy Novatianism. In the persecutions under the Emperor Valerian in 258, numerous bishops, priests, and deacons were put to death. Pope Sixtus II was one of the first victims of this persecution, being beheaded on 6 August. He was martyred along with six deacons: Januarius, Vincentius, Magnus, Stephanus, Felicissimus and Agapitus. Lawrence of Rome, his best-known deacon, suffered martyrdom on 10 August, four days after his bishop. Sixtus is thought by some to be the author of the pseudo-Cyprianic writing ''Ad Novatianum'', though this view has not found general acceptance. Another composition written at Rome, between 253 and 258, is generally agreed to be his.


Legacy

Sixtus II is referred to by name in the Roman Canon of the
Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
. The Tridentine calendar commemorated Sixtus, Felicissimus, and Agapitus on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, 6 August. They remained in that position in the
General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...
until 1969, when, with the abolition of commemorations, the
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
of Sixtus "and his companions" was moved to 7 August, the day immediately after that of their death.''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 133 The following inscription honoring Sixtus was placed on his tomb in the catacomb of Callixtus by Pope Damasus I:


See also

* List of Catholic saints *
List of popes This chronological list of the popes of the Catholic Church corresponds to that given in the under the heading "" (The Roman Supreme Pontiffs), excluding those that are explicitly indicated as antipopes. Published every year by the Roman Curia ...
*'' Sistine Madonna''


References


Literature

* *


External links


"St. Xystus, or Sixtus II., Pope and Martyr"
''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sixtus 02 258 deaths 3rd-century archbishops 3rd-century Christian martyrs 3rd-century executions 3rd-century Romans Greek popes Papal saints Christian martyrs executed by decapitation People executed by the Roman Empire Year of birth unknown 3rd-century popes Popes