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Silas or Silvanus (;
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey.


Name and etymologies

''Silas'' is traditionally assumed to be the same as the ''Silvanus'' mentioned in four epistles. Some translations, including the New International Version, call him "Silas" in the epistles. Paul, Silas, and Timothy are listed as co-authors of the two New Testament letters to the Thessalonians, though the authorship is disputed. The '' Second Epistle to the Corinthians'' mentions Silas as having preached with Paul and Timothy to the church in Corinth (), and the First Epistle of Peter describes Silas as a "faithful brother" (). There is some disagreement over the original or "proper" form of his name: "Silas", "Silvanus", "Seila", and "Saul" seem to be treated at the time as equivalent versions of the same name in different languages, and it is not clear which is the original name of "Silas", and which is a translation or equivalent nickname, or whether some references are to different persons with equivalent names. He is consistently called "Silas" in the Acts of the Apostles, but the
Roman name Over the course of some fourteen centuries, the Romans and other peoples of Italy employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of a combination of personal and fam ...
'' Silvanus'' (which means "of the
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
") is always used by Paul and in the First Epistle of Peter (); it may be that "Silvanus" is the Romanized version of the original "Silas", or that "Silas" is the
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
nickname for "Silvanus". Silas is thus often identified with
Silvanus of the Seventy Silvanus is a traditional figure in Eastern Orthodox tradition assumed to be one of the Seventy Apostles, those followers of Jesus sent out by him in Luke 10. According to Orthodox tradition he later became Bishop of Thessalonika and died a ma ...
. Catholic theologian
Joseph Fitzmyer Joseph Augustine Fitzmyer (November 4, 1920 – December 24, 2016) was an American Catholic priest and scholar who taught at several American and British universities He was a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Fitzmyer was considered ...
further points out that ''Silas'' is the Greek rendition of the
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
''Seila'' (), a version of the Hebrew ''Saul'' (), which is attested in Palmyrene inscriptions. Anne Catherine Emmerich says that the original form of his name was "Sela."


Biblical narrative

Silas is first mentioned in , where he and Judas Barsabbas (known often as 'Judas') were selected by the church elders to return with Paul and
Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...
to Antioch following the Jerusalem Council. Silas and Judas are mentioned as being leaders among the brothers, prophets and encouraging speakers. Silas was selected by Paul to accompany him on his second mission after Paul and Barnabas split over an argument involving Mark's participation. It was during the second mission that he and Paul were imprisoned briefly in Philippi, where an earthquake broke their chains and opened the prison door. Silas is thus sometimes depicted in art carrying broken chains
Acts 16:25-37
According to , Silas and Timothy travelled with Paul from Philippi to
Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, where they were treated with hostility in the synagogues by some traditional Jews. The harassers followed the trio to Berea, threatening Paul's safety, and causing Paul to separate from Silas and Timothy. Paul travelled to
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, and Silas and Timothy later joined him in
Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...
. These events can be dated to around AD 50: the reference in to Proconsul Gallio helps ascertain this date (cf.
Gallio inscription The Delphi Inscription, or Gallio Inscription ( IG, VII, 1676; SIGII, 801d, is the name given to the collection of nine fragments of a letter written by the Roman emperor Claudius c. 52 CE which was discovered early in the 20th century at the Te ...
). According to , Paul ceased to attend the synagogue in Corinth as a result of Jewish hostility, Silas is not mentioned thereafter in the Acts narrative. He appears in the salutation of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and is referred to in 2 Corinthians 1:19. This is as expected, as we read of his involvement in Paul's mission when these cities were visited. He also appears in the conclusion of 1 Peter at 5:12, and is perhaps the amanuensis. Peter says he regards Silas as "a faithful brother".


Mysticism

Anne Catherine Emmerich Anne Catherine Emmerich (also ''Anna Katharina Emmerick''; 8 September 1774 – 9 February 1824) was a Roman Catholic Augustinians, Augustinian Canoness Regular of Congregation of Windesheim, Windesheim, mysticism, mystic, Blessed Virgin Mary (R ...
recounts in her visions that Silas' original name was Sela, and that he was one of the three "secret disciples," along with
Hermas Hermas is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Hermas of Dalmatia (1st century), one of the Seventy Disciples, feast day April 8 * Hermas of Philippopolis (1st century), one of the Seventy Disciples, feast day May 31 * H ...
, who had later accompanied Jesus on his trip to the Three Kings' homeland near Ur, and thence to Heliopolis, and whose parents had come with the caravan of the
Three Kings The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the ...
.


Veneration

Saint Silas is celebrated in the
Calendar of Saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and that of the
Episcopal Church (United States) The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop ...
with a Lesser Feast on
January 26 Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. *1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. * 1564 – The Council of Tren ...
with Timothy and
Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
, and separately on July 13 by the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and February 10 by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Saint Silas is also venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church on July 30 along with the Apostles Silvanus,
Crescens Crescens was an individual who appears in the New Testament. He is traditionally considered one of the 72 disciples sent out by Jesus in Luke 10. He was a missionary in Galatia and became a companion of Paul. The name 'Crescens' is the pres ...
, Epenetus, and Andronicus and on January 4 where he is venerated with all the apostles.


See also

* Paul the Apostle *
Agabus Agabus ( el, Ἄγαβος) was an early follower of Christianity mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a prophet. He is traditionally remembered as one of the Seventy Disciples described in Luke . Biblical and traditional accounts Acco ...
*
Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...
*
Manahen Manahen (also Manaen or Menachem) was a teacher in the first century Christian Church at Antioch who had been 'brought up' ( gr, συντροφος, ''syntrophos'', Vulgate: ''collactaneus'') with Herod Antipas.Teachings of Silvanus The ''Teachings of Silvanus'' is one of the books found in the Nag Hammadi library. It is generally dated around 150. The author is unknown, but it is pseudonymously attributed to a companion of Paul and Peter – "Silas" of chapters 15-18 of the b ...
: an apocryphal text from the
Nag Hammadi Library The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the " Chenoboskion Manuscripts" and the "Gnostic Gospels") is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyr ...
that is attributed t
Silvanus/Silas
* Churches named after St Silas


References

{{Authority control 1st-century deaths 1st-century bishops in the Roman Empire Biblical apostles Christian saints from the New Testament People in the Pauline epistles Prophets of the New Testament Seventy disciples Year of birth unknown Anglican saints