Life of St. Sylvester, Pope of Rome (January 2)

On the 2nd day of January

From the «Lives of the Saints» of St. Demetrius (Dimitri) of Rostov

His Youth and Hospitality. The Martyrdom of Bishop Timothy

The holy Sylvester was born in ancient Rome and raised in the holy faith. He was a disciple of Cyrenus the presbyter, from whom he learned bookish wisdom and good conduct; and in his mature years he was greatly given to hospitality, and out of love for God and for his neighbour he would bring travellers into his house, wash their feet, and set food before them, providing for them every comfort. Once a holy man and confessor of Christ, Bishop Timothy, came to Rome from Antioch, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Sylvester received him into his house and profited greatly from his holy life and teaching, for Timothy was perfect in virtue and in faith. He remained in the house of Sylvester one year and several months, and turned many Romans from idolatry to God. For this he was seized by Tarquinius, the prefect of the city, and long held in chains and in prison; three times he was beaten for refusing to sacrifice to the idols, and at last he was beheaded by the sword and died. The blessed Sylvester took up his holy relics by night and buried them in his own house with due singing. Afterwards a certain believing woman named Theonisia built, at her own expense and with the blessing of Miltiades, Bishop of Rome, a church for the holy Timothy, into which the bishop carried the relics of the holy martyr. But Tarquinius, the prefect, summoned Sylvester, confiscated the property left by Timothy, and pressed him to sacrifice to the idols. When he refused, the prefect threatened him with torments. Sylvester, foreseeing the prefect’s sudden death, spoke to him the word of the Gospel: “This night your soul shall be required of you, and what you boast of doing to me shall not come to pass.” Enraged by these words, the prefect ordered the holy Sylvester to be bound in iron chains and cast into prison, and himself sat down to dine. And as he ate fish, a bone lodged in his throat, which by no means or treatment could be drawn out; and so from the dinner hour until midnight he sickened and died, according to the prophecy of the saint. In the morning his kinsfolk carried the prefect to the grave with weeping, but the faithful led Sylvester out of prison with joy and honoured him greatly — and not only the faithful but the unbelievers also, for many of the prefect’s household, seeing Sylvester’s prediction fulfilled, were seized with fear and fell at his feet, lest the same calamity befall them as had befallen their master. Others turned to Christ, convinced by that wonder.

His Episcopal Ministry and Church Ordinance

When the saint reached the age of thirty he was ordained deacon by Miltiades, Bishop of Rome. Then, after Miltiades, Sylvester was chosen by all to the episcopal throne of Rome, and was set up as a shining candle in the candlestick, and he fed the flock of Christ like a second apostle, guiding it by word and deed to the pasture of salvation. He found certain clerics who had abandoned their office and taken up worldly trade; these he turned again to the service of the Church, and laid down a canon that none of the consecrated should entangle themselves in worldly commerce. That most holy father also gave the Romans the names of the days of the week: for the Romans at that time called the first day — the day which we call Sunday — the day of the Sun, and named the others the day of the Moon, the day of Mars, the day of Mercury, the day of Jupiter, the day of Venus, and the day of Saturn. But he, despising the impious names of the pagan gods, commanded that the first day be called the Lord’s Day, because on that day our Lord rose gloriously from the dead, and that the other days be named as the Romans name them to this day. He also established that Christians should fast on one Saturday only — the one on which Christ died and descended into Hades to destroy it and to lead out thence the forefather Adam with the fathers. On other Saturdays he did not command fasting.

The Serpent Beneath the Tarpeian Rock

In those days there was in Rome a great serpent which dwelt in a deep cave beneath the hill called Tarpeian, and to it the unbelieving people offered sacrifice every month as to a god. When the serpent came out of the cave it poisoned the air with its venomous breath, and many died among those who lived near by, and children most of all. The holy Sylvester, wishing to deliver the people from this harm and to turn them from godlessness to the true God, called together the Christians of the city, appointed for them a three-day fast and prayer, and laboured himself in fasting and prayer more than all the rest. And in one night the holy Apostle Peter appeared to him in a vision, commanding him to take with him certain of the presbyters and deacons and go without fear to the cave where the serpent dwelt; there, having celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the mouth of the cave, he was to go in and, calling upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to shut the serpent within, so that it should never come out again. The saint, following the apostle’s command, went to the cave; and after celebrating the holy Liturgy he entered in and found within it a door of some kind. This he locked, saying: “Let this door not be opened until the day of the Second Coming of Christ.” And so, shutting the serpent in the cave, he made it unable to come out for ever. The wicked thought that the serpent would devour Sylvester and his clergy there, but when they saw him unharmed they marvelled; and not seeing the serpent come forth from there, many of them came to know the power of the true God and joined themselves to the faithful.

The Emperor’s Leprosy and the Counsel of the Priests

At that time Constantine the Great reigned, not yet enlightened by holy baptism. When he went out from Rome to fight against Licinius, a persecution of the Christians arose in Rome in his absence, raised by the Roman senate: the faithful were compelled to sacrifice to idols, and those who refused were subjected to divers torments. Therefore the holy Sylvester, taking his clergy, went out of the city and hid himself in a mountain called Soracte. Meanwhile, by God’s providence, the Emperor Constantine fell into a very grievous and incurable leprosy, and was covered from foot to head with scabs. Many wise physicians and magi were brought to him, not only from the Roman land but from Persia as well, yet he received no relief in his sickness. Then the priests of Jupiter from the Capitol came to the emperor and said: “Unless you make yourself a bath of the blood of small children and wash in it while it is warm, it is impossible for you to be healed; but if you do so you will be well at once, and there is no other cure for you besides this.” The emperor sent everywhere to gather small children for the making of his bath of blood. And many children still at their mothers’ breasts were gathered in the Capitol. When the day came on which the children were to be slain, the emperor went to the Capitol, for there the priests were to prepare his bloody bath. And behold, a multitude of women ran together, tearing their hair and rending their faces with their nails, crying out and weeping bitterly. When the emperor asked the cause of such lamentation and learned that they were the mothers of the children gathered to be slain, he took pity, seeing their bitter weeping and tears, and said: “How dreadful is the inhumanity of those who counselled me to shed innocent blood! It is unknown whether I shall be made well by washing in innocent blood; and even if I knew for certain that I should be healed, it were better that I alone suffer pain than that I should shed the blood of so many infants who have done me no harm, and fill their mothers with unceasing lamentation and grief.” So saying, he returned to his chambers, and commanded that their children be given back to the mothers unharmed, and giving to each of them gold from the imperial treasury, sent them away in peace.

The Appearance of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

And the all-good God, seeing such mercy in him, repaid him with a double health — of body and of soul. For He sent to him His chief apostles Peter and Paul: as he slept they appeared to him in a vision, standing before his bed. The emperor asked them who they were and whence they came. They said: “We are Peter and Paul, apostles of Jesus Christ, sent to you from Him to set you on the way of salvation and to tell you of the bath in which you shall receive health of body and soul, and to promise you eternal life from God for that earthly life which you granted the children when you spared them. Call therefore to yourself Bishop Sylvester, who hides in the mountain of Soracte because he fears you, and listen to his teaching. He will show you the bath in which you shall be cleansed from every defilement and shall come forth whole in soul and body.” So saying, the holy apostles departed from him. The emperor, waking from sleep, marvelled at what he had seen; and behold, his physician came in to him as usual, and he said to the physician: “I have no more need of your treatment, for I hope in divine help.” And he sent him away. At once he commanded that Bishop Sylvester be sought everywhere and brought to him with honour.

The Meeting with Bishop Sylvester

When Sylvester was found and brought to the emperor, the emperor received him with honour and love, himself rising to meet him and embracing him as a friend. Then he asked him, saying: “Are there among you gods called Peter and Paul?” Sylvester answered: “We have one God, O emperor, who made heaven and earth and all that is in them. But those of whom you speak, Peter and Paul, are not gods, but His servants, who preached the name of Christ throughout the world, and afterwards shed their own blood for their Lord under Nero.” The emperor, hearing this, was glad and said: “I ask you, bishop, show me their likenesses, if you have them depicted on an icon, that I may know for certain whether these are the ones who appeared to me in my sleep.” Sylvester at once sent a deacon to bring the icon of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. And seeing the depicted faces of the apostles, the emperor said: “These are truly the ones I saw.” And he related all his vision to the bishop in detail, and asked him to show him such a bath as might cleanse him of the leprosy of soul and body, according to what the apostles appeared to him in the vision had said. The holy Bishop Sylvester said to the emperor: “You cannot otherwise, O emperor, enter into that bath, unless first you believe without doubt in that God whom the apostles who appeared to you preached.” The emperor answered: “Had I not believed that Jesus Christ is the one God, I should never have summoned your holiness to myself.” The saint said to him: “It behooves you first to fast, and by prayer, and tears, and confession of your sins to make God merciful. Lay aside your purple and your crown for seven days, and shut yourself in the inner chambers of your palace, and in sackcloth and ashes work repentance, weeping and casting yourself upon the ground. Command that the temples of the idols be closed and sacrifices to them ceased. Release the Christians who are in exile, and grant deliverance to those who sit in chains; be good to those who ask you, and fulfil every righteous petition, and give from your own estate sufficient alms to the poor.” The emperor promised to fulfil all this in deed. And the bishop, laying his hand upon him, prayed and blessed him and departed. And gathering all the faithful, he commanded them likewise to fast and pray, that the persecutions against the Church of God might cease, that the darkness of idolatry might be driven away, and that the light of salvation might shine upon all.

The Baptism of the Emperor and the Light from Heaven

When the seventh day came, the saint went to the emperor, and having instructed him at length concerning the holy mysteries of faith in the All-Holy Trinity, prepared for him the bath of holy baptism. When the emperor entered into it and the holy Sylvester immersed him, he called upon him the Name of the All-Holy Trinity. Suddenly a great light flashed from heaven, brighter than the rays of the sun, and the chamber was filled with unspeakable radiance. The emperor was at once cleansed of the leprosy, which remained wholly in the water, falling from his body like scales from a fish, and he came out of the font whole, so that no trace of his wounds remained on his body; and he put on the white garment given after holy baptism. He himself related that when he went down into the water he felt a hand stretched out from above which touched him. And straightway he gave command that none should dare to dishonour Christ or to insult Christians. He built in his royal court a church in the name of Christ the Saviour, and commanded that all who wished to be Christians should be baptized without hindrance, and that the white garment for baptism should be taken from the imperial treasury.

Peace to the Church and Freedom of Faith

And at that time a great multitude of people were baptized, and from day to day the Church of Christ grew and multiplied, while idolatry dwindled. And there was great joy among the faithful, whose number in Rome had become so great that they wished to drive out of the city all who would not be Christians. But the emperor forbade the people, saying: “Our God does not will that any be drawn to Him by constraint and force; but if anyone comes to Him of free will and good intent, He is well pleased and receives him mercifully. For whoever wills, let him believe freely, and let none persecute another.” By that imperial answer the people were gladdened still more, since he left all to live freely, each in his own faith and free will.

The Intrigue of the Jews and the Summoning of the Disputation

Not in Rome alone was there joy among the faithful, but throughout the whole world. For everywhere the faithful who had been tormented for Christ were released from bonds and prisons, and the confessors of Christ returned from exile. Those who had hidden in mountains and deserts for fear of the executioners returned without fear to their own homes, and everywhere the persecutions ceased and the tortures stopped. But the enemy could not endure such peace of the Church, nor bear to see the light of godliness spreading abroad, and he stirred up the Jews to approach the praiseworthy Helen, the emperor’s mother, who was then in Bithynia, her own homeland. They addressed her thus: “Your son did well to forsake impiety and cast down the temples of the idols; but he did ill to believe in Christ and to honour Him as the Son of God and true God — Him who was a man, a Jew and a sorcerer, who deceived men with magic illusions, and whom Pilate, having tormented as a malefactor, hanged upon a tree. The emperor received health not by that power, but by the grace of God who made heaven and earth. It behooves you, O queen, to turn your son from such error, lest the Most High God be angered and some evil befall the emperor.” Hearing this, Helen sent word by letter to her son Constantine. He, having read it, wrote back to his blessed mother that the Jews who said such things should come with her to Rome and dispute about the faith with the Christian bishops before all; and whichever side prevailed, that faith would be the better. When the queen made known this imperial command to the Jews, at once there gathered many very wise Jews, skilled in their law, who knew the words of the prophets and had gone through the Greek learning, and were ready for the disputation; and they went with Queen Helen to Rome. Among them was one very wise rabbi named Zambri, who was not only experienced and accomplished in Greek wisdom and in the Hebrew scriptures, but was also a very great sorcerer; upon him lay all the hope of the Jews, that if he could not overcome the Christians by words he would overcome them by magical signs.

The Beginning of the Disputation: From Whose Books to Argue

When the day of the disputation between the Jews and the Christians came, the emperor sat upon his throne with all his senate, and the holy Sylvester came before the emperor with a small company, having with him several bishops who happened then to be there. The Jews entered also, a hundred and twenty in number; and the disputation began. Queen Helen herself sat behind a curtain, wishing to hear it, and the emperor with his senate judged what both sides said. At first the Jews demanded that twelve of the wisest Christians be set from the Christian side to contend with them. But the holy Sylvester answered them: “We do not rely upon the number of men, but trust in God, who strengthens all; calling Him to our aid we say: ‘Arise, O God, judge the contention concerning Thee.’” The Jews said: “The Scripture is ours, for our prophet wrote those words; it behooves you to speak from your own scriptures, not from ours.” Sylvester answered: “Truly the Scripture of the Old Testament and the preaching of the prophets were first spoken to you; yet they belong to us also, for in them much is said concerning Christ our Lord. It is fitting today to contend with you from them, for your books have become ours, while ours are alien to you; and you will sooner believe your own books than ours. Wherefore by your own books we will show you the truth which you resist. The victory will be more wonderful and more manifest when we take up the weapons of the adversary and overcome him with those very weapons.”

The Testimony of the Prophet David Concerning the Son of God

The emperor said: “The bishop’s word is just and cannot be gainsaid. For if the Christians bring you testimonies from your own scriptures, O Jews, concerning their Christ, then in every way the mastery is theirs, and you shall be overcome out of your own books, which are proper to you.” When the emperor said this, the whole senate approved that judgement. Then the Jews began to say to the Christians: “Our God Almighty says in the Book of Deuteronomy: ‘See, see that I am God, and there is no other God besides Me.’ How then do you call God that Jesus who was a man, whom our fathers crucified? And you introduce three gods: the Father, in whom we also believe; and Jesus, whom you call the Son of God; and as a third god you name the Spirit. So believing, do you not manifestly resist God the Maker of all, who teaches us that there are no other gods besides Him?” To this the God-inspired Sylvester replied: “If you will look upon the Scripture with your mind, without any confusion or noise, you will find that we introduce nothing new in confessing the Son of God and the Holy Spirit; for this was not spoken by ourselves, but found in the divine prophets. Before all, David, prophet and king, foretelling the rebellion of your fathers against our Saviour, said: ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples learn vanity, against the Lord and against His Christ?’ For in saying ‘the Lord and His Christ’ he introduces not one person but two. And that Christ is the Son of God the same prophet declares, saying: ‘The Lord said to Me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.’ For one is He who begat, and another He who was begotten.”

The Eternal Begetting and the Testimony Concerning the Holy Spirit

Against this the Jews said: “Because, as you say, God begat, you here make the impassible passible; and just so the Son, begotten of God, is subject to time and has His being in time. For this word ‘this day’ is temporal, and does not allow one to believe that God is eternal.” Sylvester answered: “We do not say, O Jews, that there was begetting in a passible God; we confess the Godhead impassible, and a begetting such as the word is begotten of the mind. Nor do we introduce a temporal begetting of the Son from the Father, but we believe in His eternal, timeless Nativity, for we know the Maker of time not to be under time. That saying, ‘This day have I begotten Thee,’ does not signify the heavenly and everlasting divine begetting, but the lower one, taken in time and in the flesh for our salvation. The prophet knew that Christ God would be before the ages, and therefore says: ‘Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.’ Foretelling His incarnation in the last times, he said: ‘Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee.’ For by these words, ‘Thou art My Son,’ he signifies not a temporal but an eternal begetting; and by these, ‘This day have I begotten Thee,’ he signifies His Nativity accomplished under the years. And because he said, ‘I have begotten Thee,’ the prophet showed that that Nativity of the Son which was to be under the years the Father reckons as His own proper, because it is to be of His will. Yet that very saying, ‘This day have I begotten Thee,’ signifies the eternity of the divine Nativity, in which there is no past or future act, but always today, now. And concerning the Holy Spirit the same David bears witness, saying: ‘By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all their power by the Spirit of His mouth.’ Here he names three: the Father, the Lord; the Son, whom he calls the Word, because of the heavenly and impassible begetting; and the Holy Spirit. And in another place he says: ‘Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.’ And again: ‘Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?’ By these words the prophet plainly shows that there is a Holy Spirit, who also fills all things. And again he says: ‘Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.’ Are not all these things said by David? But Moses also, the seer of God, introduces in the Book of Genesis God saying: ‘Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness.’ To whom, then, does God speak, if we do not say that another Person was with Him? No one can say that God said this to the heavenly Powers, for the very words ‘in Our image’ do not permit one to think so. God and the angels have not the same image and likeness, for neither their nature nor their power is the same: one is the divine nature, another the angelic. Therefore it is fitting that He be other to whom God speaks those words, ‘in Our image.’ And it is fitting that He be of one nature, and image, and likeness, and identity with God who speaks. Who can such a one be, if not the Son, who is consubstantial with the Father, and co-glorious, and co-mighty — the unchanging image of God? What do we introduce that is new, when we believe and say that there is Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit? And if this seems to the pagans false and vain, that is not wonderful, for they do not know the Holy Scripture. But why do you not believe, you who are instructed in the words of the holy prophets, of whom there is not one who did not prophesy concerning our Saviour?”

Concerning the Claim That the Nazarene Is Not God

And when that divine father would have spoken further concerning the All-Holy Trinity, the emperor, interrupting his speech, said to the Jews: “These words which the bishop has set before us from the Scripture, O Jews, are they written likewise in your books?” They answered: “They are.” The emperor said: “For in that contention concerning the All-Holy Trinity it seems to me you are overcome.” They answered: “No, O good emperor, by no means shall Sylvester be able to overcome us, if we too set forth what we have. We have much to say in reply, which we are ready to speak at once; but we see that the discussion is superfluous and the striving vain, to dispute about the Trinity. For today the question is not whether God is one or three, but that the Nazarene is not God. For even if it were agreed that there are three gods, it would still not be consistent to believe that Jesus is God — He who was not God but man, born of men, who lived among sinful men, ate and drank with publicans, and, as it is written in His Gospel, was tempted by the devil; then betrayed by His disciples, seized, dishonoured, beaten, given gall and vinegar to drink, stripped, His garments divided by lot, nailed to the cross, dead and buried. How can such a one be called God? Of this, O emperor, is the discussion today against the Christians, because they introduce that new God. If they can say anything about Him, and if they have any testimonies, let them speak to us.” When they had said this, the holy Sylvester began to speak: “We do not speak of three gods, O Jews, as you suppose, but we confess one God, whom in three Persons, or Hypostases, we honour and worship. It behooves you, against the first question you have proposed, to bring words from your own books, so that it be plain that what is said is not well, and so to enter into the dispute.”

The Incarnation of Christ and the Sign of the Virgin

“But since you refuse to speak of that today, let us discourse concerning our Lord Jesus Christ as you yourselves wish. Let us begin here: God, who brought all things into being, when He had made man and saw that he had inclined to every corruption, did not despise the work of His hands as perishing, but willed that His Son, who dwelt with Him inseparably — for God is everywhere — should come down to our bounds. And He came down, and being born of the Virgin was made under the law, to redeem those who were under the law. And because He was to be born of a Virgin, the divine prophet Isaiah foretold it, saying: ‘Behold, a Virgin shall conceive in the womb and shall bring forth a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel.’ That name, as you yourselves know, signifies God’s coming to men, and in the Greek translation Emmanuel means ‘God with us.’ For the God who was to be born of the Virgin that prophet announced long before.” The Jews said: “In our Hebrew tongue the book of the prophet Isaiah does not have the word ‘virgin’ written, but ‘young woman’; you corrupt the Scripture by writing ‘virgin’ in your books instead of ‘young woman.’” The holy Bishop Sylvester answered: “If in yours there is written not ‘virgin’ but ‘young woman’ — is not a young woman the same as a virgin? Let us look at it from here. When the prophet Isaiah spoke as it were from the Person of God to Ahaz: ‘Ask thee a sign, either in the depth or in the height,’ Ahaz said: ‘I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.’ Then the prophet said: ‘The Lord Himself shall give you a sign.’ What sign, then, does He give? ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb.’ If you say that the prophet speaks not of a virgin but of a young woman, and that a young woman is not a virgin, then the promised sign cannot be called a sign: for a young woman married to a husband giving birth — this is not a sign, but the law and custom of nature. To give birth without the intervention of a man — that is the sign, an unwonted deed which passes beyond the laws of nature. That young woman written by you was a virgin, for the Lord promised to give a sign in her, and such a sign that she should bear a Son beyond nature, without knowing a husband. And we did not corrupt the Scripture by writing ‘virgin’ instead of ‘young woman,’ but rather set it right, that in it the wonderful divine sign, exceeding human nature, might be more plainly known. Who ever among men was born without the seed of a man, save Adam, formed from the earth, and Eve, formed from his rib? And where has a woman given birth without coming together with a husband? For there would have been no sign, as promised by God, if that young woman had conceived in the womb not beyond nature but according to nature, coming together with a husband — that would have been a deed customary to nature. But because the incorrupt Virgin conceived without a husband of the Holy Spirit, therefore the sign is new and most glorious, and God is with us, born of the honourable Virgin beyond nature according to the promise.”

The Name Jesus and the Prophetic Testimonies to the Passion

The Jews said: “But because He who was born of Mary was called not Emmanuel but Jesus, therefore that was not He whom God promised through the prophet, but another.” The holy Sylvester answered: “It is customary for the holy Scripture at times to use descriptions and deeds of things in place of a name. As thus: ‘Call his name, Hasten to plunder, swiftly take captive.’ Though no one was ever called by such a name, yet because Christ was to overcome enemies and lead captivity captive, those deeds of His which He was to do were reckoned to Him as a name. And the same prophet says also of Jerusalem: ‘Be called the city of righteousness.’ Though no one ever called it the city of righteousness, but by the name customary to it — Jerusalem — yet because Jerusalem was then justified before God, therefore in the prophecy a name is given it, ‘city of righteousness,’ from what came to pass in it. Other such things may be found in the Scripture, where descriptions of deeds which occurred are used as a name. And that God was to dwell with men we hear from Baruch, who prophesies: ‘This is our God, and none shall be compared to Him; He found every way of knowledge and gave it to Jacob His servant and to Israel His beloved; afterward He appeared upon earth and dwelt among men.’ And that He was to be tempted by the devil, Zechariah foretold: ‘I see Jesus the great priest standing, and the devil standing at His right hand to tempt Him; and Jesus says to the devil, The Lord rebuke thee, adversary.’ And concerning His seizure it was prophesied in the Book of Solomon: ‘The ungodly said among themselves, Let us lay hold of the righteous man, for he is troublesome to us and opposes our deeds.’ And that He was to be betrayed by His own disciple the psalmist announced: ‘He that ate my breads lifted up his heel against me.’ And concerning the false witnesses it was foretold: ‘Unrighteous witnesses rose up against me.’ Of the Crucified he says: ‘They pierced My hands and My feet, and numbered all My bones.’ The same prophet foretold the dividing of Christ’s garments: ‘They divided My garments among themselves, and for My clothing they cast lots.’ He also prophesied of the drink of vinegar with gall: ‘They gave gall for My food, and for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink.’ And again he announced His burial: ‘They laid Me in the pit beneath the earth.’ And Jacob, your forefather, foresaw it in the Spirit, saying: ‘He lay down and slept as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp.’” And the holy Sylvester brought still more testimonies from the holy prophets concerning Christ the Lord, and overcame the Jews; for the Holy Spirit spoke through his mouth, showing plainly that Christ is the true God, born of David.

Why It Behoved God to Be Incarnate

When the Jews said, “What need was there for God to be born in a human body? Could He not otherwise have saved the race of men?” the saint answered: “Nothing is impossible with God; but it was fitting that the devil be overcome by that same one by whom he had overcome. Man was overcome by him — man not born after the manner of nature, not, I say, from the coming together with a husband, but formed from the earth, and from such earth as was like a virgin, pure and incorrupt; for it had not yet then been cursed by God, nor defiled by the blood of a murdered brother nor by any killing of beasts, nor corrupt by the corrupt bodies of the dead, nor polluted by any unclean and defiled deeds — from such earth was the flesh of the forefather formed, which the divine breath quickened. When the all-malignant devil overcame such a man, so born, it is fitting that he himself be overcome by such a man. And such is our Lord Jesus Christ: born not by the custom and law of nature, but as Adam from incorrupt earth, so He from the womb of the honourable, virginal and holy Virgin; and as that one was quickened by the divine breath, so this one was incarnate through the Holy Spirit who came upon the All-Holy Virgin, and became perfect God and perfect man in all things except sin, having two natures — divine and human — and in one Person the humanity suffered for us, while the Godhead remained impassible.”

The Contest with Zambri the Sorcerer: The Raising of the Ox

And the saint brought forward this comparison: “Let us take a tree illuminated by the rays of the sun. If the tree is hewn, only the tree is hewn; the sun’s rays are not hewn. So too the humanity of Christ is united with the Godhead: though it endured the passion, yet the Godhead is untouched by the sufferings.” When the holy Sylvester had said this, the emperor and all the senate praised him and reckoned to him the victory in that contest, for the Jews had no more to say against Sylvester. Then Zambri the sorcerer said to the emperor: “Though Sylvester overcomes us by his words, being mighty in speech and skilled in discourse, yet we will not for that reason fall away from the law of our fathers, nor follow a man whom our fathers by common counsel delivered to death. And since that God whom we worship is one and there is no other, I am ready to show it not by word, as Sylvester does, but by deed. Only command, O emperor, that a great and wild ox be brought here, and at once your majesty and all who stand here will learn that there is no God but ours.” One of the emperor’s generals said: “There is such an ox in my herd not far from the city walls, upon which no man can lay a yoke or stroke or touch him with the hand.” And at once the emperor sent to bring that ox. Meanwhile, as they talked, the holy Sylvester asked Zambri: “Why do you need an ox? And when it is brought, what will you do with it?” Zambri said: “To show the power of the name of our God; for when I whisper into the ox’s ear, it will die at once. Mortal nature cannot bear the name of God, nor can he live who hears that Name. And our fathers, when they brought oxen for sacrifice, spoke that Name into the oxen’s ears, and at once they fell with a great bellowing and died, ready for sacrifice.” Sylvester said: “If that Name, as you say, kills everyone who hears it, how did you learn it?” Zambri answered: “It is not fitting for you to know this secret, for you are our enemy.” When Zambri said this, the emperor said: “If you will not reveal that secret to the bishop, tell it to us. For it is a doubtful thing when someone says he can learn that Name by reading it written.” Zambri answered: “Neither hide, nor parchment, nor wood, nor stone, nor any other thing can bear that Name written upon it, for at once both he who writes and the thing on which it is written perish.” The emperor said: “Tell us, then, how you yourself learned it, since it is impossible to learn it if it is neither spoken nor written.” Zambri answered: “I, O emperor, fasted seven days; then I poured clean water from a spring into a new silver basin and prayed, and the words were written upon the water by an invisible finger, thus teaching me the Name of God.” The wise Sylvester said: “If you learned that Name so, as you say, then when you speak it into someone’s ear, do you not yourself hear that Name as does the one to whom you speak it? And how is it that, hearing it yourself, you do not die?” The sorcerer answered: “I told you that it is not fitting for you to know that secret, for you are our enemy. But what need is there of words, when what is said can be shown by the deed itself? Choose one of two: either you call upon the name of your Nazarene and kill the ox, so that we too may believe in Him; or I will speak the Name of our God into its ear and make that ox dead — and then we shall compel you to believe in our God.” All who stood near heard this and praised Zambri’s proposal, but the Christians were dismayed; yet the holy bishop strengthened them. The emperor said to Zambri: “It is fitting that you first fulfil what you promised, for you promised to kill the ox with one word.” The sorcerer answered: “When you command me to do it, O emperor, you will see the power of my God.” So saying, he approached the ox, which strong men, having bound its horns with stout cords, were leading with great strain and labour. Coming up to it, Zambri whispered something into its ear, and at once the ox bellowed loudly and, trembling, fell dead. All who saw it marvelled greatly, and the Jews cried out, clapping their hands and saying, “We have overcome, we have overcome!” But the holy Sylvester asked the emperor to command silence. And when silence came, the bishop said to the Jews: “Is it not written in your books that the Almighty God said, ‘I will kill and I will give life; I will wound and I will heal’?” They answered: “It is so written.” Sylvester said: “If Zambri killed the ox by the Name of God, then by that same Name let him raise it up. For God is He who does good and not evil, and it is His nature to do good; but to do evil is contrary to His nature, and His will is always good, always willing to do good. Sometimes indeed He punishes someone with some evil for the benefit of others, yet this is of necessity, and He does it unwillingly, constrained by our wickedness. If, then, Zambri did so easily what is contrary to the divine nature, how much more easily will he do what is natural to God: let him give life to the ox by that same divine Name by which he killed it, and I will join his faith.” Zambri said to the emperor: “If, O emperor, Sylvester wishes to contend with words, then words are not needed, when the wondrous deed has been accomplished.” And to Sylvester he said: “If you have such power, O bishop, work you also such a wonder by the name of your Jesus.” The bishop answered: “If you wish, I will show you the power of my Christ, when by the invocation of His holy Name I raise up the ox which you killed.” Zambri said: “You boast in vain, Sylvester, for it cannot be that the ox is alive.” The emperor said to Zambri: “If the bishop can do what, as you say, is impossible, will you believe in his God?” Zambri answered: “Truly, O emperor, I swear to you that if I see the ox raised up, I will confess that Christ is God, and will accept the faith of Sylvester.” And all the Jews said the same. Then the bishop, bending his knees, prayed earnestly with tears to God; and rising and lifting up his hands, he spoke so that all might hear: “O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and God, for whom it is easy to kill and to give life, to wound and to heal, deign by the invocation of Thy all-holy and life-giving Name to give life to this ox, whom Zambri by demonic invocation made dead. For the time has come for Thy wonders to appear for the salvation of many. Hear me, Thy servant, in this hour, that Thy all-holy Name may be glorified.” After the prayer he came up to the ox and said aloud: “If the God whom I preach, Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary, is true, arise and stand upon your feet, and cast off all fury; be obedient.” When the saint had said this, at once the ox came to life, and rose, and stood obediently. The saint commanded that the cords be loosed from its horns and said: “Go back whence you came, and harm no one, but be obedient — so Jesus Christ our God commands you.” And the ox went away with all gentleness, which before had been untamably fierce. All saw this and cried out as with one mouth: “Great is the God whom Sylvester preaches.” And the Jews with Zambri, running to the saint and embracing his honourable feet, asked him to pray to God for them and to receive them into the Christian faith. The blessed Helen also, laying aside the curtain behind which she had sat listening to the dispute and watching what was done, came out and fell at the saint’s feet, and confessed that Christ is the true God, and asked of the saint holy baptism. And the holy Helen was baptized then, and the Jews with Zambri also, and an innumerable multitude of people drew near to God and joined the Church of Christ.

The Finding of the Precious Cross and His Blessed Repose

After this the saint went with the holy Queen Helen to Jerusalem to seek the Cross of the Lord. When it was found, many of the Jews believed in Christ, and the holy Sylvester baptized them. Then he returned to Rome and spent the remainder of his life in the labours customary to him and in care for the Church of Christ. And so, having fed well the spiritual flock, he passed to the Lord, full of days. He lived in the episcopate twenty-three years and ten months. And now in life unending he glorifies with the angels the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the one God in Trinity, to whom be glory from us also for ever. Amen.

On the Same Day: The Holy Martyr Theogenes

On the same day, the holy martyr Theogenes, who was bishop in Parium of the Hellespont and was killed for Christ by Zelycinthius the tribune: being bound and drowned in the depths of the sea, he died.