Pope Sylvester I

Sylvester I
Sylvester I and the Emperor Constantine
Birth name	Sylvester
Papacy began	31 January 314
Papacy ended	31 December 335
Predecessor	Miltiades
Successor	Mark
Born	??? Sant'Angelo a Scala, Avellino [1] death_date=December 31 335
Other popes named Sylvester

Sylvester I
Pope Sylvester I portrayed slaying a dragon and resurrecting its victims
Pope
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church
Feast	31 December (Roman calendar) 2 January (Eastern calendar)
Patronage	Feroleto Antico

Pope Saint Sylvester I also call Silvester I was pope from January 31, 314 to December 13, 335, succeeding Pope Miltiades. The son of a Roman named Rufinus, served as the bishop of Rome at a very important era in the history of the Christian, during the reign of Constantine I and the emergence of Arian controversy.

During Sylvester's pontificate, Christianity became the favored religion of Roman emperor, after having endured centuries of intermittent persecution. Although Sylvester did not himself attend the First Council of Nicaea in 325, he was represented by two legates, Vitus and Vincentius. Under his administration, several great churches were founded at Rome by Constantine. Later legend brought him into close relationship with Constantine as the first Christian emperor.

Silvester figures in the "Donation of Constantine," fabricated in the second half of the eighth century, purporting to record Constantine's conferring on Silvester as his successors, as Rome's bishop, special privileges and powers. It is now universally admitted to be a forgery designed to bolster the claims of the papacy as the ruling institution of the Christian church.

In the West, the liturgical feast of Saint Sylvester is celebrated on December 31, the day of his burial in the Catacomb of Priscilla.

Biolgraphy

Date of birth unknown; d. 31 December, 335. According to the "Liber pontificalis" (ed. Duchesne, I, 170) he was the son of a Roman named Rufinus; the legendary "Vita beati Sylvestri" calls his mother Justa. After the death of Miltiades (Melchiades), Sylvester was made Bishop of Rome and occupied this position twenty-one years. This was the era of Constantine the Great, when the public position of the Church so greatly improved, a change which must certainly have been very noticeable at Rome; it is consequently to be regretted that there is so little authoritative information concerning Sylvester's pontificate. At an early date legend brings him into close relationship wtih the first Christian emperor, but in a way that is contrary to historical fact. These legends were introduced especially into the "Vita beati Sylvestri" (Duchesne, loc. cit., Introd., cix sq.) which appeared in the East and has been preserved in Greek, Syriac, and Latin in the "Constitutum Sylvestri"—an apocryphal account of an alleged Roman council which belongs to the Symmachian forgeries and appeared between 501 and 508, and also in the "Donatio Constantini". The accounts given in all these writings concerning the persecution of Sylvester, the healing and baptism of Constantine, the emperor's gift to the pope, the rights granted to the latter, and the council of 275 bishops at Rome, are entirely legendary. The pope, however, took part in the negotiations concerning Arianism and the Council of Nicæa, and the expression ‘omooúsion was probably agreed upon with him before the council. The pontiff also sent legates to the first æcumenical council. Still it is not certain whether Constantine had arranged beforehand with Sylvester concerning the actual convening of the council, nor whether there was an express papal confirmation of the decrees beyond the signatures of the papal legates (cf. Funk in "Kirchengesch. Abhandlungen und Untersuchungen", I, 95, 501 sq.).

During Sylvester's pontificate were built the great churches founded at Rome by Constantine, e.g. the basilica and baptistery of the Lateran near the former imperial palace where the pope lived, the basilica of the Sessorian palace (Santa Croce), the Church of St. Peter in the Vatican, and several cemeterial churches over the graves of martyrs. No doubt the pope helped towards the construction of these churches. Sylvester's memory is especially connected with the tiitular Church of Equitius, which takes its name from a Roman presbyter who is said to have erected this church on his property. It was situated near the thermæ of Diocletian, and still exists. Parts of the present building may date from the fourth century. No doubt the pope contributed to the development of the liturgy of the Church at Rome. During his reign, moreover, the first martyrology of Roman martyrs was probably drawn up. Sylvester is connected also with the establishment of the Roman school of singing. on the Via Salaria he built a cemeterial church over the Catacomb of Priscilla, the ruins of which have lately been brought to light. In this church he was buried. His feast is given under 31 December in the "Depositio episcoporum", or list of the burial days of the Roman bishops, which was compiled barely a year after his death; the same date is given in the "Calendar" of Philocalus. This day, therefore, is doubtless the day of his burial.

Legacy

This is the last day in the year and, accordingly, in German-speaking countries and in some others close to them, New Year's Eve is known as Silvester. In other countries too, the day is usually referred to as Saint Sylvester's Day or the Feast of Saint Sylvester (in French as la Saint-Sylvestre).

Roman Catholic Popes
Preceded by: Miltiades	Bishop of Rome Pope 314–335	Succeeded by: Mark

External links

• Opera Omnia by Migne
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Pope St. Sylvester I

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