Older sources use the spellingXystus (from theGreek ξυστός,xystos, "polished", "correct", "shaved") in reference to the first three popes of that name. Pope Sixtus I was also the sixth Pope afterPeter, leading to questions as to whether the name "Sixtus" is derived fromsextus,Latin for "sixth".
Some authorities agree that he reigned about ten years. According to theLiberian Catalogue of popes, he served theChurch during the reign ofHadrian "from the consulate of Niger and Apronianus until that of Verus III and Ambibulus", that is, from 117 to 126.[2]Eusebius states in hisHistoria Ecclesiastica that Sixtus I reigned from 119 to 128,[3] which is repeated in theLatin translation of hisChronicon.[4] However, the Armenian translation dates Telesphorus’ accession to 124. Eusebius himself begins to show internal inconsistencies for the chronology of this period;Richard Adelbert Lipsius compares the available sources and asserts that Sixtus died between around 125, after a tenure of 10 years.[5]Like most of his predecessors, Sixtus I was believed to have been buried nearPeter's grave onVatican Hill, although there are differing traditions concerning where his body lies today. InAlife, there is aRomanesque crypt, which houses the relics of Pope Sixtus I, brought there byRainulf III.Alban Butler (Lives of the Saints, 6 April) states thatClement X gave some of his relics toCardinal de Retz, who placed them in the Abbey of Saint Michael inLorraine.
Sixtus I instituted several Catholic liturgical and administrative traditions. According to theLiber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, I.128), he passed the following three ordinances:
that none but sacred ministers are allowed to touch the sacred vessels;
that bishops who have been summoned to the Holy See shall, upon their return, not be received by their diocese except on presenting Apostolic letters;
that after thePreface in theMass, the priest shall recite theSanctus with the people.[2]
^abcd"Pope St. Sixtus I".The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1912.
^Eusebius,Ecclesiastical History.IV, 4. "In the third year of the same reign [Hadrian], Alexander, bishop of Rome, died after holding office ten years. His successor was Xystus".IV, 5. "In the twelfth year of the reign of Adrian, Xystus, having completed the tenth year of his episcopate, was succeeded by Telesphorus, the seventh in succession from the apostles." TheCaesarean calendar bean in 3 October, seeBurgess, Richard W. (1999).Studies in Eusebian and Post-Eusebian Chronography. Franz Steiner Verlag. p. 29.ISBN978-3-515-07530-5.
^Jerome,Chronicon, 3rd year ofHadrian, AD 119. "Xystus holds the 6th episcopate of the Roman church for 10 years." AD 128, 12th year of Hadrian: "Telesphorus received the seventh episcopate of the Roman church for 11 years."
Chapman, John.Studies on the Early Papacy. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1971.ISBN978-0-8046-1139-8.
Fortescue, Adrian, and Scott M. P. Reid.The Early Papacy: To the Synod of Chalcedon in 451. Southampton: Saint Austin Press, 1997.ISBN978-1-901157-60-4.
Jowett, George F.The Drama of the Lost Disciples. London: Covenant Pub. Co, 1968.OCLC7181392
Loomis, Louise Ropes.The Book of Popes (Liber Pontificalis). Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing.ISBN1-889758-86-8.
