Pope Sixtus III
Sixtus III,
pope (
July 31,
432 -
August 18,
440). The name of Sixtus is often connected with a great building boom in Rome - Santa Sabina on the
Aventine Hill was dedicated during his pontificate and he built Santa Maria Maggiore, whose dedication to
Mary the Mother of God reflected his acceptance of the
Ecumenical council of
Ephesus which closed in
431. At that council the debate over Christ's human and divine natures turned on whether Mary could be called the "Mother of Jesus" as a human only or the "Mother of Christ" as both God and Man. The council gave her the Greek title
Theotokos ("God-bearer), and the dedication of the large church in Rome is a response to that.