Saint Publius ( mt, San Publju; grc-gre, Πούπλιος) is a first century

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

bishop. He is venerated as the first

Bishop of Malta The Archdiocese of Malta (Malti: ''Arċidjoċesi ta' Malta'') is a metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Malta. History Tradition claims that St. Paul the Apostle established the diocese of Malta in the year 60 A ...

and one of the first

Bishops of Athens A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. Publius is Malta's first acknowledged

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

, the prince of the island ( mt, il-prinċep tal-gżira). According to Maltese

Christian tradition Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. These ecclesiastical traditions have more or less authority based on the nature of the practices or beliefs and on the group in que ...

, Publius' conversion led to Malta being the first

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

nation in the West. His feast day is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church and the

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church * Oriental Orthodox Churches * Orthodox Presbyterian Church * Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand * State church of the Roman Empire * True Orthodox church See also * Orthodox (dis ...

, of which the traditions related and the day of celebration differ.

History and tradition

According to

, it was Publius who received

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

during his

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

on the island as recounted in the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

. According to the

, Paul cured Publius' dysentery-afflicted father. :''"In the vicinity of that place were lands belonging to a man named Publius, the chief of the island. He welcomed us and received us cordially as his guests for three days. It so happened that the father of Publius was sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him. After this had taken place, the rest of the sick on the island came to Paul and were cured. They paid us great honor and when we eventually set sail they brought us the provisions we needed."'' — Acts 28:7–10, New American Bible Apart from being patron saint of Floriana, Publius is also one of the two patron saints of Malta beside Paul. He was martyred c. 125, during the persecution of Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

, and canonised in the year 1634. His feast is celebrated on January 22, in the Roman Catholic Church, which places him as the successor of Dionysius the Areopagite (Denis the Areopagite), dating his martyrdom to c. 112 AD. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, however, his feast day is observed on March 13, and according to an epistle of Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, he is placed as the successor of Saint

Narcissus of Athens Narcissus of Athens is numbered among the Seventy Disciples. Along with the Apostles Urban of Macedonia, Stachys, Ampliatus, Apelles of Heraklion and Aristobulus of Britannia (all of these names are mentioned together by St. Paul in , which cann ...

, dating his martyrdom to the period of the persecution under Marcus Aurelius (). Godfrey Wettinger, a contemporary historian, argues that there is no proof that Paul ever was in Malta other than in pseudo-Maltese history dating from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The island was conquered by the Muslims between 870 and 1091, during which period it also spent years uninhabited, suggesting that Christianity in Malta is not rooted on Publius and Paul. Though the Acts of the Apostles (c. 28) does specifically mention Malta in connection with Paul's voyage and shipwreck, the text does only claims that Publius' father was healed of dysentery and not that he ever converted.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Publius 112 deaths 2nd-century Christian saints Maltese saints People in Acts of the Apostles National symbols of Malta Saints of Roman Athens Year of birth unknown Bishops of Athens Bishops of Malta