The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Xystus I (Sixtus I) of Rome
d. c. 126 · Bishop of Rome · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Xystus I (Sixtus I) of Rome was
Seventh bishop of Rome, whose Greek name Xystus the Latin church softened to Sixtus. Irenaeus and Eusebius set him seventh in the line from the apostles; he lived in the Hadrianic years and is one of the anchor-points by which the Roman succession was later reckoned. Nothing he wrote survives.
Also listed in the bishops of Rome.
Common questions
When did Xystus I die?
Xystus I (Sixtus I) of Rome is dated d. c. 126 in the archive, which places Xystus I in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Xystus I?
Xystus I (Sixtus I) of Rome is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Irenaeus of Lyon, Eusebius of Caesarea and The chronographer of 354. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Xystus I from?
The archive associates Xystus I (Sixtus I) of Rome with Rome.
Who were Xystus I’s contemporaries?
The archive links Xystus I (Sixtus I) of Rome to 2 other figures, including Alexander of Rome and Telesphorus of Rome. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Against Heresies III.3.3
c. AD 180Then, sixth from the apostles, Sixtus was appointed.Irenaeus of Lyon · Against Heresies III.3.3 · source text
Ecclesiastical History IV.4
c. AD 325In the third year of the same reign, Alexander, bishop of Rome, died… Xystus succeeded him.Eusebius of Caesarea · IV.4 · source text
Liberian Catalogue (Chronography of 354)
c. AD 354Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Xystus I.
- 1Rome