At that time, the mother of the emperor, Helen, not yet baptized, was in the Bithynian prefecture, where she was born.1 Now certain Jews approached the augusta and said, “The emperor has done a good work by renouncing the idols. Nevertheless, he has fallen into another similar error, by venerating a condemned Man Whom our fathers crucified as a malefactor. Therefore, if thou lovest thy child, counsel him to render homage to the eternal God, that He might grant Constantine length of days and glorify him in the future everlasting life.” These guileful words incited the augusta to report the words of the Jews to her son. She informed him in writing of this piece of intelligence, urging him to investigate their claims. She also told him that “I rejoice greatly and give glory to God that thou has been freed from the error of the idols.”
The emperor received his mother’s communication and responded: “Lady and my mother, rejoice in the Lord! He Who governs all of the universe and gives life and preserves us, in His œconomy has dispensed that I be made emperor. We therefore ought not to become ungrateful toward the Benefactor. Assemble the most learned of the teachers of the Jews and let them, before us, come and debate with the hierarchs of the Christ. Then shall the truth be known exactly, and we shall hasten to the Orthodox Faith. Fare thee well.”
The emperor’s pleasure was made known to the Jews. They selected twelve men, the chiefs of their Pharisees and most exceptional of their teachers. These Jews claimed not only knowledge of the prophets and traditions of their elders, but also of both the Greek and Latin languages and the philosophies of those peoples. Among the rabbis, there was Zambres, a wicked man. He was reputedly more erudite than the rest, and was a Kabbalist and magician. The Jewish contingent went to Rome with the augusta. They went before Constantine and asked that he choose twelve bishops of the Christians that they might have discussions with them, so that the truth should be made manifest. The blessed Silvester answered them and said, “We do not place our hope in the numbers of men, because the less human help one has, the more is he helped by divine power.” The Jew Zambres then said to him, “If thou wilt appear to be a man of excellence and a good teacher, then do not quote from your Gospel or your books, but let the prophets be the texts used for testimony.” Saint Silvester commented, “I also had this in mind, because when I prevail over you with the testimonies of your own teachers, then you shall no longer have any mouth by which to answer.” The day of the debate was scheduled. The emperor, in the company of his senators, took his seat upon the throne. The augusta took her special place behind a curtain. One hundred and twenty Jews in all were present, while Pope Silvester entered with several bishops who had come from Rome, together with some followers.
Zambres then came forth and said, “The almighty God spoke these words: ‘Behold, behold that I am He, and there is no God beside Me [Deut. 32:39].’ If therefore God spoke this and He is the only God, why do you dare to name three? The One Whom you confess as Father, we do also. But then you confess the Son as second, Whom our fathers crucified. Then you speak of a third, the Holy Spirit, is this not so?” Saint Silvester replied, “We confess and revere one God Whom we declare to have a Logos or Word, even as spoken of by the prophet: ‘By the Logos of the Lord were the heavens established, and all the might of them by the Spirit of His mouth [Ps. 32:6].’ Elsewhere the prophet speaks of both the Son and Holy Spirit, uttering, ‘Why have the heathen raged, and the peoples meditated empty things? The kings of the earth were aroused, and the rulers were assembled together, against the Lord, and against His Christ [Ps. 2:1, 2].’ David speaks here not of one person but two, the Lord and His Christ. The same prophet then identifies Christ as the Son, when he wrote: ‘The Lord said unto Me: “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee [Ps. 2:7].”’ Thus, both the Begetter and the Begotten are spoken of here.” The Jews then noted that David had spoken the words “this day.” They declared, “Those words denote time. So then how can the Son be the eternal God?” The man of God Silvester answered, “The expression ‘this day’ speaks not of the pre-eternal generation of the Son, but rather that generation which took place in time when the Logos became incarnate. The prophet understood this difference. In writing ‘Thou art My Son,’ he refers to the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. This is followed by ‘this day have I begotten Thee,’ which bespeaks of the Only-begotten’s incarnation of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. God the Father reveals His concurrence with the Son’s taking on flesh. Even so, the words ‘this day have I begotten Thee’ pertain to the eternity of the divine generation, in which there is no past or future action, but always the present only. Indeed, no analogy can hold between divine generation or begetting and human generation or begetting. Divine generation does not imply any passion whatsoever. Man, having a transitive nature, begets passibly. God is not composed of parts. He is impassibly and indivisibly Father of the Son and Logos Who is the Father’s Word and Wisdom. On the one hand, Scripture speaks of ‘Son,’ in order to declare the natural and true Offspring of His essence; but, on the other hand, that none may think of the Offspring in human terms, while signifying His essence, it also calls Him Word, Wisdom, and Radiance. For the Son’s generation was impassible, and eternal, and worthy of God. The Logos is not a work or creation. As the Father always is, so what is proper to His essence must always be; and this is His Word and His Wisdom. The Begetter and the Begotten are coessential. There is no interval between them. The Son is co-beginningless with the Father.
“The Spirit is spoken of in numerous places. Do we not hear Him spoken of in these passages? ‘Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me [Ps. 50:11].’ And, ‘Thou wilt send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created [Ps. 103:32].’ And, ‘Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit [Ps. 138:6]?’ So spoke David your king and prophet. What about your law-giver, Moses? Did he not write in Genesis: ‘And God said, “Let Us make man according to Our image and similitude [Gen. 1:26]”?’ God was not addressing the angels, for they do not possess His nature. David wrote: ‘The Lord said unto My Lord: “Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies the footstool of Thy feet [Ps. 109:1].”’ David calls the Christ ‘Lord.’ To which of the ministering spirits has God spoken thus? He spoke to His coessential Son, His express image.” Zambres commented, “This belief of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit cannot be accepted by the mind of man.” The hierarch answered, “The pagans are ignorant of Scriptures, but what excuse do you have? You claim to know the prophets; and without exception, they all prophesied of the Christ.”
The emperor then interjected, “I am astonished that the Jews are being vanquished by so many testimonies from their Scriptures, and still they are contentious and filled with a spirit of contradiction.” Constantine then turned to the Jews and said, “Behold, even through your own writings, I acknowledge that the evidence shines through that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit certainly exist. Therefore, there is no need to speak further regarding this matter; only if you have different evidence.” The Jew Zambres then said, “In your Gospel it is written that ‘Jesus kept on advancing in wisdom and stature [Lk. 2:52],’ and that He was tempted by the devil. Afterward, a disciple delivered Jesus into the hands of men, so that He was bound, mocked, scourged, crucified, and died. If He therefore were God, how did He suffer?” Saint Silvester answered, “All of these events were preached by the prophets. Hearken then! Esaias spoke of the Christ’s seedless conception when he uttered, ‘Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Emmanuel [Is. 7:14].’ As thou knowest, Emmanuel signifies ‘God is with us.’” The Jews shook their heads and said, “Nay, the Hebrew text speaks not of a virgin but a damsel, a young woman.” The saint responded: “Well, what great thing or what sign should that have been? Why is it extraordinary that a young woman should conceive by a man and bring forth? Does this not occur to all women, bearing offspring? What sort of sign would that event be? Why do you contradict and say ‘damsel’ rather than ‘virgin’? Even so, a virgin is called a damsel in holy Scripture. [cf. Deut. 22:27; 1 Kgs. (3 Kgs.) 1:4].2 Furthermore, in other places the Scripture is wont to put the word ‘youth,’ for ‘virginity’; and this with respect not to women only, but also to men. For it is said, ‘young men and maidens, old men with younger ones [Ps. 148:12].’ And again, speaking of the damsel who is attacked, it says, ‘if the young woman (neanis) cry out [cf. Deut. 22:27],’ meaning the virgin.
“Our version has not corrupted the text. In the first place, the Seventy translators are to be trusted above all the others. For the others may rightfully be suspected of enmity and tampering, since they made their versions after Christ’s coming and continued in Judaism. But the Seventy, who took up this work a hundred years or more before the coming of Christ, are necessarily clear of any suspicion, not only on account of the date, but also their number and agreement.”
The Jews then said, “But Mary bore Jesus, not Emmanuel. Jesus was not called Emmanuel by His disciples, friends, or enemies.” The hierarch answered, “The name ‘Emmanuel’ was a kind of expression according to the issue of the event of His Incarnation that now ‘God is with us.’ You know that the prophets are wont to do this. Bring to mind Esaias who gave one of his sons a representative name which meant ‘Spoil quickly, plunder speedily [Is. 8:3]’, since the son was to be a type of Christ. His name describes the works of Christ. The name declares in a mysterious manner how the Lord would reign and spoil. The significance of the appellation relates to the issue of events. Again, this is customary in Scripture, to substitute the events that take place for names. Therefore, to say, ‘They shall call Him “Emmanuel” [Mt. 1:23]’ means nothing else than that they shall see God among men. Did not Baruch say, ‘This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him. He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob His servant, and to Israel His beloved. Afterward did He show Himself upon earth, and conversed with men [Bar. 3:35-37]’?
“Thou speakest of Jesus being tempted by the devil. Hast thou never read of this prefigurement in Zacharias, who said, ‘The Lord showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and the devil stood on his right hand to resist him [Zach. 3:1]’? Jesus, the son of Josedec, spoken of here, was a type of the Lord Jesus Who took up man’s cause and condition, with the devil set at His right hand. Jesus, the son of Josedec, described as being clothed in filthy garments, was a type of the Lord Jesus Who had not committed any sin and yet bore our sins, on Whose right hand stood Satan to be His adversary [cf. Zach. 3:1, 4]. The Lord Jesus permitted Satan to stand at His right hand so that He could say, ‘Begone, Satan [Mt. 4:10].’ Consequently, the adversary was cast down from his place and departed. After the contest had been finished and victory had been won, it was said of Jesus, son of Josedec, ‘Take away the filthy raiment from him,’ and, ‘Behold, I have taken away thine iniquity [Zach. 3:5].’”
Saint Silvester then spoke of the Lord’s Passion and resurrection. “Prophet David tells us that the Messiah would be delivered up by a disciple, saying, ‘Yea, even the man of My peace in whom I hoped, who ate of My bread, hath magnified the lifting of heels against Me [Ps. 40:9].’ Esaias informs us that the Messiah would be silent before His accusers: ‘And He, because of His affliction, opens not His mouth; He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb, so He opens not His mouth [Is. 53:7].’ It was also prophesied that the Messiah would be smitten; so says Esaias: ‘I gave My back to scourges, and My cheeks to blows; and I turned not away My face from the shame of spitting [Is. 50:6].’ He was mocked, so says David: ‘All that look upon Me have laughed Me to scorn; they have spoken with their lips and have wagged with their heads, saying, “He hoped in the Lord; let Him deliver Him, let Him save Him; for He desireth Him [Ps. 21:7, 8].”’ This same prophet is clear regarding the Messiah’s death by crucifixion: ‘The congregation of evildoers hath surrounded Me; they have pierced My hands and My feet. They have numbered all My bones, and they themselves have looked and stared upon Me. They have parted My garments amongst themselves, and for My vesture have they cast lots [Ps. 21:16-18].’ And, ‘They gave Me gall for My food, and for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink [Ps. 68:21].’ The Messiah also suffered with transgressors, as prophesied by Esaias: ‘He was numbered among the transgressors; and He bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities [Is. 53:12].’ The same prophet tells us that ‘He shall bear our sins....He was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities;...by His bruises we were healed....His life is taken away from the earth; because of the iniquities of my people He was led to death. And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death [Is. 53:5, 6, 8, 9, 11].’ But David also tells us that the Messiah was resurrected: ‘For Thou wilt not abandon My soul in Hades, nor wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption [Ps. 15:10].’” These and many more things were explained by the hierarch, as he touched upon how the sun was darkened and the earth quaked, the tombs were opened and the dead came forth, and the veil of the temple was rent. Consequently, the Greek pagans who were present shouted aloud to Zambres, confessing, “Christ is the Son of God.” Then they said to him, “Therefore, O Jew, unless thou art able to prove that the prophets did not utter these words, thou art vanquished as a liar and babbler. Moreover, if the words spoken by the prophets are true, which thou hast not denied, then thou oughtest to accept them as true, by confessing Christ as true God and Man. Indeed, if thou refusest to willingly accept the obvious, on account of stubbornness, then thou hast denied thine own religion by accusing thine own prophets of falsehood.”
The Jews still would not quit, but resumed and asked, “Why should God take on flesh? Was there no other way to achieve man’s salvation?” “With God,” said Pope Silvester, “all things are possible. The Lord God ‘formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [Gen. 2:7].’ The earth was then pure and virgin, not yet cursed in our labors [Gen. 3:17], not yet stained with Abel’s blood and the killing of animals, and still unpolluted by decaying corpses and untainted by wicked deeds. As Adam came from uncorrupted earth, so Jesus was born seedlessly of the Ever-virgin. But Adam was a type of ‘the coming One [Rom. 5:14].’ Since ‘by a man came death, also by a Man came a resurrection of the dead. For even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ shall all be made alive [1 Cor. 15:21, 22].’ So it has been written: ‘The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam became a life-creating Spirit. But the spiritual was not first, but the animal, and afterward the spiritual. The first man is of earth, earthy; the second Man is the Lord from heaven [1 Cor. 15:45-47].’ Thus all things are to be recapitulated in the Christ, both the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth [Eph. 1:10]. In becoming Man, Christ has brought about the communion of God and man. In Himself, He summed up and renewed all things and has procured for man a comprehensive salvation, that we might recover in Christ what in Adam we lost. I mean the image and similitude of God.”
The emperor was happy and satisfied at this point. He deemed Silvester’s words and reasoning most wise. Constantine then addressed the Jews: “You can gainsay him in nothing, since he has brought your own writings into evidence.” The Jews then said to the bishop, “All those prophesies uttered by the prophets pertain to others, but you have falsely attributed them to the Christ.” Saint Silvester then remarked, “Find for me another who was born of a virgin maiden, and who was crucified, and arose on the third day; only then shall I admit that these things were not spoken of regarding the Christ.” These and many other things were uttered by Saint Silvester to Zambres and the rest of the Jews, so that much time passed. The emperor was then tired of the Jewish wrangling, because they kept making problems, casting forth useless arguments, and citing examples that came to nought. Constantine wished now to bring an end to the talks and assign the victory to Saint Silvester. However, lest the Jews should later complain, he asked them, “Have you anything else to say?” One of them, named Jubal, spoke up and said, “Silvester still has not answered our question. We asked him to tell us how Christ suffered if He is God. That alone demonstrates that Jesus was a man.” After speaking thus, the Jew then turned to the hierarch and said, “It is impossible that thou shouldest demonstrate that in one person there exist two essences, so that one is capable of suffering insult and punishment, and the other does not partake of these things and abides unharmed.” Saint Silvester replied, “And if I should demonstrate it, wilt thou confess before this whole company of nobles that thou art vanquished, or wilt thou contemplate sowing some other new tares?” Jubal then remained quiet. The emperor then said, “If he does not confess the victory, those standing here shall ascribe his nonacceptance as stubbornness.”
Then Saint Silvester took up the emperor’s purple cloak and said, “With this purple cloth, I shall overcome the adversary. Now this garment was formerly raw silk and white. Tyrian purple, a vat dye from certain shellfish from which the scarlet pigment is obtained, was used on this formerly unbleached cloth. Afterward, vigorous methods of dyeing are applied. The fibers may be in a loose form before spinning or partially or fully spun yarn. They are subjected to baths, rinses, paddles, rollers, drums, cages, spinning, and cutting, and whatever methods such skilled in this art employ, so that it might become worthy of the imperial wardrobe. Though the fibers and material undergo an extensive process, the wearer suffers nothing. In like manner was it so in the body of Christ; for only the flesh suffered. Again, let us use the example of the emperor’s wool mantle. Colorant was used on the threads which were then twisted. What was twisted? The color that signifies the royal dignity or the wool that was wool before it was dyed purple? The wool stands for the man, the purple color for God. Though God was present in Christ’s Passion, He was not subjected to suffering. As the dye, He did not partake of any outrage.” “But wait,” said one of the Jews, “was not the color twisted with the wool?” The saint then said, “If this example does not suffice, O Jew, hearken to a second and third, to the glory of the coessential Trinity. Let us picture a tree filled with the rays of the sun. Now let us imagine that someone has cut down that tree. Tell me, when the axe cleaved the tree, did the sun suffer anything? The tree sensed the axe, but the sunlight experienced no blow. The sun abides untouched and impassible.” The Jew then said, “I beseech thee, tell me even a third example, that I might be better persuaded.” Saint Silvester obliged him and said, “When iron, which is beaten with the hammer by the smith, is drawn from the fire, it is plainly evident that the fire endures no violence; only the iron is subjected to the pounding and cutting of those skilled in metal-working. In like manner, the divinity remained impassible, as it is immaterial, and only the flesh of the Christ suffered. He has two natures, one divine and one human, but in a single Person. Though He suffered in His human nature, yet not in His divinity. Now Christ was tempted in all respects according to our likeness, without sin [Heb. 4:15]. So says Esaias: ‘He practised no iniquity, nor craft with His mouth [Is. 53:9].’ But He suffered, leaving behind an example that we should follow in His footsteps [1 Pe. 2:21].”
All the bystanders, hearing these examples, acclaimed the most wise Silvester. At this juncture, the emperor ended the debate. The saint, however, did not wish this, for he had not yet discoursed with all twelve Jewish elders. One of them, Sileon, had not yet uttered a word. Lest there should be cause later for complaint, he said to Sileon, “Hast thou any questions?” He then said, “Justly hast thou discerned things. Tell us then if the prophets gave reasons for such outrages and so much suffering; that is, why should the Christ receive such a hideous and shameless death? Again, could not man be delivered by some other means?” To this question, the divine Silvester gave the proper answer. “Christ,” said he, “suffered hunger that He might feed us. He thirsted in order to quench our dryness with a life-giving draft. He endured temptation to liberate us from temptation. He was taken captive to deliver us from capture by the demons. He was mocked to free us from the demons’ mockery. He was bound in order to untie for us the knot of bondage and malediction. He was humiliated in order to exalt us. He was stripped of His garments to clothe us. He accepted the crown in order to give back to us the lost flowers of Paradise. He was hung upon the tree in order to condemn the evil desires that a tree had stirred. Even as Satan tricked the man in Paradise into eating from the tree, which ushered in our banishment, so with the Tree of the Cross Christ conquered the adversary and raised man, vouchsafing him again Paradise. Jesus was given gall and vinegar to drink in order to bring man into a land flowing with milk and honey. He took mortality upon Himself to confer immortality upon us. He was buried to bless the tombs of the saints. He rose to restore life to the dead. He ascended into the heavens to open heaven’s gates. He is seated at God’s right to hear and grant the prayers of the faithful.
“It was not possible that He should command an angel to take on flesh and free man, lest we should be obliged to the angelic nature, rather than to the Creator and Savior. The Son of God became Man, in order that He might again bestow that favor for which He created him, which was after His own image, endowed with intellect and free will, and after His own similitude, that is, perfect in all virtue as far as it was possible for man’s nature.
“Jesus endured death voluntarily, thereby trampling upon Death against his will. In that very body by which Death had slain Jesus, Jesus bore away the victory over Death. Divinity, concealed in the manhood, fought against Death. Death slew the natural life, and the supernatural Life slew Death. When Jesus entered Sheol, clothed with the body of Adam, Death had no power over Him. Death swallowed Jesus, the Medicine of life, and discovered that the prey was God in the flesh and incorruptible. Thereupon, Death vomited forth the dead held captive. Jesus therefore despoiled Hades, plundering its storehouses and emptying its treasures. Thus, the Son of God, having assumed our nature and united it to Himself, conquered the devil who had the power of death.”
Sileon remained voiceless, no longer able to resist. The spectators, hearing these things, marvelled, and applause rang out from all, including Constantine and the Jews. Zambres, being wicked and crafty, contrived a piece of knavery. Little did he know that such villainy would put him to shame and bring him into the very pit which he had prepared for the pope. Zambres thereupon addressed the emperor: “Sire, Silvester is loquacious and glib-tongued, by which he has bested us in the debate. He is plausible and beguiles the people with his ambiguous word games. He attempts to explain the divinity by human reasoning. Although he has exhausted all our arguments, we shall not abandon the traditions of our elders and worship the crucified One. Silvester talks much, but I am ready to show by deeds, which are more creditworthy than words, that there is nothing more powerful than the name of the almighty God, Whose name I know. Do thou command that they bring here a wild bull, and then you shall all know the power of my God, Whose name is so fearful that the hearing of it brings death. For this reason, when our forefathers wished to sacrifice great bulls, they would speak the divine name in the ear of the animal, and straightway it would expire. Let Silvester speak the name of his God in the ear of the bull, and if it should die, then the God Whom he reveres is the true One. If the beast remains alive, then I shall speak the name in the bull’s ear; and if it should die, you will believe me.” Saint Silvester, knowing this to be complete nonsense, then said to Zambres, “If verily none is able to bear hearing the name, how shalt thou hear it and not die?” Zambres replied, “Thou canst not know this mystery. Thou art the enemy of the Jews.” The emperor then interposed and said, “If thou wilt not speak of the mystery to the bishop, then tell us: where and how didst thou learn this name? Perhaps thou didst read it in a book?” Zambres answered gravely, “The name may not be written on anything, lest the writer and what he has written upon should suffer destruction.” Constantine demanded impatiently, “This does not explain how the name was revealed to thee, if it cannot be spoken or written.” Zambres then disclosed, “I fasted for seven days, entreating the Lord to manifest His name. Then I beheld a silver basin filled with water. An invisible finger traced the letters of the name over the waters. Only after exerting myself and with much toil was I able to comprehend it.” The holy and discerning Silvester understood this to be a demonic manifestation, and repeated his earlier question, “When thou speakest that name, it is evident that thou hearest it at the same time. Therefore, how didst thou survive it?” Zambres answered him contemptuously, saying, “I have already answered thee. Thou art the enemy of the Jews and unfit to know our secrets. I therefore shall whisper the name into the bull’s ear. When the beast expires, thou shalt know my religion to be the true one.” The holy hierarch responded with much gravity, saying, “My God does not bestow death, but rather life and blessedness.” Zambres retorted, “Enough talk; there are deeds yet to do.”
Then the divine Silvester besought the emperor and all the senate to dispatch men to lead forth the most wild bull that they could find. The beast was found, and even thirty men restraining it with ropes could hardly manage it. Since Zambres initiated the challenge, he went forth first to the bull, which suddenly calmed at his approach. Zambres spoke some secret words of sorcery into the creature’s ears. Forthwith, the bull fell down to the ground and died. The Jews exulted, as they shouted and laughed scornfully at the holy man, who spoke boldly, saying, “He pronounced not the name of God, but of the foulest of demons.” The bishop then mounted a high place and commanded all to remain silent, for he wished for them to hear every word of his address. The crowd hushed, and he spoke with a great voice and said, “I proclaim the Master Christ Who granted light to the blind, cleansed lepers, raised up paralytics, resurrected the dead, and healed every illness. It is therefore clear that Zambres did not speak the name of God, but that of the devil, who gives death, as he is a murderer and manslayer; but to raise up from the dead, this the devil can in no wise do. Therefore, O Zambres, if thou dost wish for us to believe thee, raise up from the dead the bull which thou hast slain; then all of us shall believe in thy God.” Zambres then rent his garment and shouted aloud, saying, “O emperor, many years to thee! Dost thou see how I have overcome with my deeds, but how he persists in confusing us with his sophistries and nonsense?”
The emperor patiently heard Zambres, but said to the bishop: “Well didst thou speak, O Silvester, that the merciful God grants life to all and not destruction.” The bishop then asked the Jews, “Is it not written that the Lord said: ‘I kill, and I will make to live: I will smite, and I will heal; and there is none who shall deliver out of My hands [Deut. 32:39]’?” The Jews answered, “So spoke the Lord.” The bishop continued and said, “If Zambres has slain the bull by the name of God, then let him restore it to life.” Constantine then said to the Jew, “Well then, either raise up the bull that we might believe in thee, or thou shalt be put to death as a deceiver and wizard, lest thou shouldest draw the people into perdition.” But Zambres quickly interjected, “This thing thou askest, O emperor, no man can do. Once more Silvester uses words instead of deeds.” Zambres then looked upon the bishop and said, “Let Silvester raise the bull in the name of this Jesus.” The holy bishop then said, “But if I should raise up the bull, invoking the life-giving and saving name of the Master Christ, then what wilt thou do?” Zambres replied, “Thou dost boast, Silvester. The bull is dead. Even if thou shouldest fly in the heavens, thou couldest not raise the creature.” Constantine became angry and said, “I marvel, O Zambres, at thy shamelessness. Was it not thee who said that we should have done with words and let only deeds be given as proof? And now that the bishop gives his word that he shall raise the bull, thou sayest, how is it possible? If the bishop’s word comes to pass in very deed, and he raises the animal, wilt thou and the rest of the Jews here come to believe in the Christ?” The Jews, believing that it could not possibly happen, promised with an oath that if Silvester should raise up the bull from the dead, then they would become Christians on the spot.
Then Saint Silvester, bowing his knees to the ground, raised up his hands and eyes heavenward. With tears, he offered up words of secret entreaty to the Lord. He then rose up and spoke with a great voice so that all might hear: “O Master, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, I entreat and supplicate Thy goodness, to raise up this animal, which Zambres slew by invoking the name of the devil, so that all the people shall come to know Thy great power and believe in Thine all-holy name.” After he uttered these words, he cried out to the beast, saying, “In the name of the Master Jesus Christ, Who was born of the Virgin Mary and was crucified by Pontius Pilate, rise up and be thou tame from henceforth.” The bull then–O the wonder!–rose up and calmly approached the saint, who removed the ropes from its horns. The bishop then said to the bull, “Go to thy place gently and dare never again to injure anyone. No one shall injure thee nor slay thee. Thou shalt live out thine appointed time and end with a natural death.” The Jews with Zambres, witnessing such an extraordinary marvel, fell to their knees before the saint, imploring him to pardon their former impiety. In like manner, the godly emperor venerated the saint and acclaimed him. The empress and the nobles then sought holy Baptism from the bishop. The blessed Silvester catechized them, including the Jews and idolaters, commanding them to fast a certain number of days, as they shed tears and performed works of mercy and charity. Saint Silvester then baptized them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the true God, to Whom is due all glory, honor, and veneration, to the ages of the ages. Amen.
Now Saint Silvester was an ardent zealot for right belief. He dispatched two legates, Vitus and Vincentius, to attend the First Œcumenical Synod, convened during the reign of Constantine the Great (325) in Nicaea of Bithynia. The western bishop, Hosius of Cordova, presided. This synod condemned the heresy of Arius. Saint Silvester reposed in Rome in the year 335. During his pontificate, Constantine had given him the palace of the Lateran, where he set up his cathedra, the official chair or throne of a bishop, and established the Lateran basilica as the cathedral church of Rome. He also built the first churches of Saint Peter on the Vatican, Holy Cross in the Sessorian palace, and Saint Laurence outside the Walls.3 Saint Silvester also built a church at the cemetery of Priscilla on the Salarian way, where he was himself buried. In 761, his relics were translated by Pope Paul I (757-767) to Saint Silvester in Capite at Rome. He was the first pope of Rome after the Church emerged from the catacombs.4
[1] The Augusta Helen (Helena) was born in ca. 250 or 257, at Drepanon (later Helenoupolis).
[2] Taking the issue up with the Jews, Blessed Jerome declares: “I know that the Jews are accustomed to meet us with the objection that in Hebrew the word almah does not mean a virgin, but ‘a young woman.’ And, to speak truth, a virgin is properly called bethulah, but a young woman, or a girl, is not almah, but naarah! What then is the meaning of almah? A hidden virgin, that is, not merely virgin, but a virgin and something more, because not every virgin is hidden, shut off from the occasional sight of men. Then again, Rebecca, on account of her extreme purity, and because she as a type of the Church which she represented in her own virginity, is described in Genesis as almah, not bethulah [Gen. 24:43 sq.]....Where he speaks of the maiden coming forth to draw water, the Hebrew word is almah, that is, ‘a virgin secluded,’ and guarded by her parents with extreme care.” Letters and Select Works: Against Jovinianus.-Book I, Nicene, 2nd Ser., VI:370.
[3] On the left side of the Esquiline Hill is the Church of S. Martino ai Monti, the site of an oratory built by Pope Silvester, which Pope Symmachus (498-514) transformed into a basilica in honor of Saint Martin of Tours. It was rebuilt in the 9th C. and again in the 17th C. See Freeman-Grenville’s The Beauty of Rome, p. 77.
[4] Butler’s Lives of the Saints, December 31st, IV:644.
This portion of the Life of Saint Sylvester, Pope of Rome, was taken from The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church, January Volume, published by Holy Apostles Convent, Copyright 2003, all rights reserved, used with permission.
The Great Synaxaristes is available for purchase from http://www.HolyApostlesConvent.org.
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