Pope Sylvester I
Bishop of Rome | |
---|---|
Church | Nicene Church |
Papacy began | 31 January 314 |
Papacy ended | 31 December 335 |
Predecessor | Miltiades |
Successor | Mark |
Personal details | |
Born | 285 |
Died | 31 December 335 (aged 50) Rome, Roman Empire[1] |
Sainthood | |
Feast day | |
Venerated in | |
Attributes |
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Patronage | |
Other popes named Sylvester |
Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, 285 – 31 December 335) was the
During his pontificate, he notably convened the
Sylvester I's pontificate coincided with the construction of churches including Old St. Peter's Basilica, the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Santa Croce in Gerusalemme), as well as the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran.[5] His feast is celebrated as Saint Sylvester's Day, on 31 December in Western Christianity, and on 2 January in Eastern Christianity.[6]
Personal biography
The accounts of his pontificate preserved in the seventh- or eighth-century
Pontificate
Large churches were founded and built during Sylvester I's pontificate, including
One of the Symmachian forgeries, the Constitutum Silvestri, is an apocryphal alleged account of a Roman council, which partially builds on legends in the Acts of Sylvester which has been preserved in Greek, Syriac, and in Latin and the fictional stories of Sylvester's close relationship with the first Christian emperor. These also appear in the Donation of Constantine.[8]
Legacy
Long after his death, the figure of Sylvester was embroidered upon in a fictional account of his relationship to Constantine, which seemed to successfully support the later
The Emperor, abjectly grateful, not only confirmed the
Pope Sylvester II, himself a close associate of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, chose the name Sylvester in imitation of Sylvester I.[8][12]
In the West, the liturgical feast of Saint Sylvester is on 31 December, the day of his burial in the
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Pope Sylvester I and Constantine in a 1247 fresco
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Relics of Saint Sylvester in the Abbey of Saint Sylvester in Nonantola
Legendary
The Donation of Constantine is a document fabricated in the second half of the eighth century, purporting to be a record by the Emperor himself of his conversion, the profession of his new faith, and the privileges he conferred on Pope Sylvester I, his clergy, and their successors. According to it, Pope Sylvester was offered the imperial crown, which, however, he refused.[15]
Lu Santu Papa Silvestru, a story in Giuseppe Pitrè's collection of Sicilian fables, recounts the legend as follows: Constantine the king wants to take a second wife, and asks Sylvester. Sylvester denies him permission, calling on heaven as witness; Constantine threatens him, and Sylvester, rather than give in, escapes into the woods. Not long after, Constantine falls ill; when he is desperate of ever regaining his health he has a dream which commands him to send for Sylvester. He obeys, and Sylvester receives Constantine's messengers in his cave and swiftly baptizes them, whereafter (having shown them several miracles) he is led back to Constantine, whom he baptizes also, and cures. In this story, Constantine and his entourage are not pagans but Jews.[16]
Another legend has Sylvester slaying a dragon. He is often depicted with the dying beast.[17][18]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Patron Saints Index: Pope Saint Sylvester I". Saints.sqpn.com. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- ISBN 978-88-209-8021-4.
- ISBN 978-0-521-52157-4.
- ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3.
- ^ a b "Pope St. Sylvester I: Saw beginning of Christian empire in Rome". Catholic News Herald. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-87061-046-2. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ Archer, Thomas Andrew (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b c d e One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Kirsch, J.P. (1912). . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Dietz, Helen (2005). "The Eschatological Dimension of Church Architecture: The Biblical Roots of Church Orientation" (PDF). Journal of the Institute for Sacred Architecture. 2005 (10): 10–14. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-415-32505-9. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ISBN 978-0060170332. A completely revised and expanded edition of: Medieval history, the life and death of a civilization. (1963).
- ^ Kirsch, J.P. (1912). . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Sylvester the Second
- ^ Cohen, Ariel (31 December 2014). "Celebrating an anti-Semitic pope on Sylvester". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ RONDINELLI, Paula. "Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre". Brasil Escola (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3.
- ^ Pitrè, Giuseppe, Fiabe, novelle e racconti popolari siciliani, Volume terzo, Palermo 1875. pp. 39–42
- ISBN 978-0-203-13721-5.
- ^ Voragine, Jacobus de (1275). "The Life of Saint Silvester". Golden Legend. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
Literature
- Gisela Schmitt (1995). "Pope Sylvester I". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 10. Herzberg: Bautz. col. 338–341. ISBN 3-88309-062-X.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Johann Peter Kirsch (1912). "Pope St. Sylvester I (314–335)". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Francesco Scorza Barcellona: SILVESTRO I, santo. In: Massimo Bray (ed.): Enciclopedia dei Papi. Rome 2000 (treccani.it)
- H.U. Instinsky: Silvester I. In: Josef Höfer, Karl Rahner (Hrsg.): Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche. 2. Auflage. Band 9. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1964, Sp 757–758.
- ISBN 3-7608-8905-0.
- Wilhelm Pohlkamp (1995). "Silvester I., Papst (314–335)". ISBN 3-7608-8907-7.
External links
- Opera Omnia by Migne (in Latin)
- Legenda Aurea (in German)
- Akathist to Saint Sylvester (in Romanian)
- Canon to Saint Sylvester (in Romanian)