Constantine-Silvanus (died 684) was the founder of the

Paulicians Paulicianism (Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; , "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the Armenian Church from the 4th ...

, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

movement in 7th century

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, who sought to return to the purity of the church in the time of

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

. They were considered heretical by the Byzantine Church. Constantine was born in Mananali, near

Samosata Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Commagene Commagene () was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a Hellenized branch of the Orontid dynasty, Orontids, a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian origin, that had ruled over the Satrapy of Armenia. The kingdom was located in and around the ...

. About 653 A.D., Constantine became friends with Soghmon, a traveling Armenian who had been held captive by the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

s. Soghmon gave Constantine a copy of the

four gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sense ...

and the letters of Paul. Reading the gospels and epistles caused Constantine to change his name to Silvanus, after the companion of Paul, and begin preaching, gathering around him a group of followers who rejected what they considered the image worship and

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

of the Byzantine Church. Silvanus founded his first congregation, who became known as Paulicians, in Kibossa, near Colonia, in Armenia. For thirty years he traveled extensively, along the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

valley, across the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

, and into the western parts of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, making converts on the way. His missionary activities came to the attention of the Byzantine Emperor,

Constans II Constans II (; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as Roman consul, consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist unti ...

, known as Constantine Pogonatus (the bearded). The Emperor issued a decree condemning the teachings of Silvanus and sentenced him to death by

stoning Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. Stoning appears t ...

. Simeon, the officer sent to carry out the execution, ordered Silvanus' friends and followers to stone him. The followers refused and dropped their stones, except for one young man, Justus, whom Silvanus had raised like an adopted son, who cast a stone at Silvanus and killed him. Simeon was impressed with the piety of Silvanus' followers and joined them, taking the name Titus. Justus betrayed Titus and the Paulicians by informing on them to the bishop. Emperor Justinian II ordered Titus and all the Paulicians to be burned to death as heretics in 690.E. H. Broadbent, The Pilgrim Church (London: Pickering & Inglis, 1931) pp 45-46

References

Sources

Encyclopædia Britannica
retrieved 17:09, 20 September 2005 684 deaths Year of birth unknown {{christian-bio-stub