August 6: Feast of St. Sixtus
On 6 August 258, Pope Sixtus II was martyred in Rome. He had served as Pope for just less than one year. During his reign, one of the theological issues with which he had to deal concerned the rebaptism of heretics. This conflict had almost caused a schism between the Roman and African and Asian church.
During the reign of Sixtus II, Valerian was the Roman emperor. In 257, Valerian had taken from Christians the right to hold ceremonies or to enter cemeteries. He also exiled the clergy. The following year, he ordered that bishops, priests, and deacons were to be immediately executed. It was while ministering to his flock in one of the catacombs that Sixtus was arrested and put to death. The historical record is not clear as to whether he was immediately executed or was first taken for trial and then returned to the catacomb to be executed. He was later canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church.
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Two other popes ended their reigns on August 6. In 523, Pope Hormisdas died of natural causes. One of his accomplishments was negotiating the reunion of the Roman and Greek churches. In 768, the reign of Constantine II ended when he was overthrown by the Langobardi, a Germanic tribe who ruled Italy from 568 to 774. Constantine II is one of the many antipopes who had a significant enough following to challenge the legitimately elected pope.
Although Christians were forbidden from entering cemeteries, they did so to transfer Pope Sixtus’s body. He was beheaded in a chair at St. Prætextatus cemetery, but was moved to the papal crypt at St. Callistus cemetery. The chair that he was executed in was also moved and placed behind his tomb. The spot where he was killed continued to be a visited spot during the seventh and eighth century. The Christians had such a deep admiration for Sixtus by risking their lives to give him a proper burial. Of course, they were also tired of Emperor Valerian’s harsh rule, being forcibly put into labor, and having their homes confiscated.
Sam Floeter