Pope Sixtus II
Early Church | |
---|---|
Papacy began | 31 August 257 |
Papacy ended | 6 August 258 |
Predecessor | Stephen I |
Successor | Dionysius |
Personal details | |
Born | Unknown Greece, Roman Empire |
Died | Rome, Roman Empire | 6 August 258
Sainthood | |
Feast day | 6/7 August |
Venerated in | Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church |
Other popes named Sixtus |
Pope Sixtus II (
Life
According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a Greek,[2] born in Greece, and was formerly a philosopher.[3] 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.[1]
Sixtus II restored the relations with the African and Eastern churches, which had been broken off by his predecessor over the question of
In the persecutions under the
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
The following inscription honoring Sixtus was placed on his tomb in the catacomb of Callixtus by Pope Damasus I:
At the time when the sword pierced the bowels of the Mother, I, buried here, taught as Pastor the Word of God; when suddenly the soldiers rushed in and dragged me from the chair. The faithful offered their necks to the sword, but as soon as the Pastor saw the ones who wished to rob him of the palm (of martyrdom) he was the first to offer himself and his own head, not tolerating that the (pagan) frenzy should harm the others. Christ, who gives recompense, made manifest the Pastor's merit, preserving unharmed the flock.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ISBN 978-81-7268-111-1.
- ^ The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis), translated with introduction by Raymond Davies (Liverpool: University Press, 1989), p. 10
- ^ "Miller, OFM, Don. "Saint Sixtus II and Companions", Franciscan Media". Archived from the original on 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
- ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 133
- J. P. Migne, Patrologia Latina, XIII, 383–4 [1]
Literature
- Erich Kettenhofen (1995). "Sixtus II". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 10. Herzberg: Bautz. cols. 578–582. ISBN 3-88309-062-X.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Michael Ott (1913). "Pope St. Sixtus II". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
- "St. Xystus, or Sixtus II., Pope and Martyr", Butler's Lives of the Saints
- "Pope Sixtus II" in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
- Collected works by Migne Patrologia Latina