Sixtus III

Sixtus III was bishop of Rome from 31 July 432 until his death on 18 August 440. His ministry followed immediately after the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, which confessed the Virgin Mary as Theotokos, and he left Rome a witness in stone to this faith. An English-⁠language Orthodox calendar commemorates him on 28 March.

He was born in Rome. Before his election he was prominent among the Roman clergy and corresponded with Blessed Augustine. Some suspected him of leniency toward Pelagius, but the charge is disputed, and others attribute it to his conciliatory disposition.

As bishop he tried to restore peace between Saint Cyril of Alexandria and John of Antioch. He also defended the rights of Rome over Illyria and the position of the archbishop of Thessalonica as head of the Church there, against the ambition of Proclus of Constantinople.

His name is linked with a great building boom in Rome. In his time the church of Santa Sabina on the Aventine was dedicated, and the Liberian Basilica was rebuilt as Santa Maria Maggiore, dedicated to the Mother of God in answer to the decision of Ephesus.

He reposed in the Lord on 18 August 440, and the West and some Orthodox calendars keep his memory on 28 March.