(314-335)
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 œcumenical 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. For his possible
relations with Armenia, see .
Liber pontificalis, ed. DUCHESNE, I, 170-201; introduction, cix sq.; JAFFE, Regesta rom. pont., 2nd ed., I, 28-30; Vita beati Sylvestri in LAND, Anecdota syriaca, III, 46 sq. and in SURIUS, Vita sanct., VI, 1173 sq.; LANGEN, Gesch. der römischen Kirche, I, 395 sqq.; DÖLLINGER, Papstfabeln (2nd ed., 1890), 61 sqq.; MARUCCHI, La basilica papale del cimitero di Priscilla (Rome, 1908).
J.P. KIRSCH (Catholic Encyclopedia)
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