Saint Silverius

God manifested at this moment the infinite power of His grace and the particular care He takes of those whom His flock recognizes as shepherds: for, although there were considerable vices in the promotion of Silverius, and it appeared more an intrusion than a canonical election, yet, as soon as the unanimous consent or ratification of the clergy had rendered him legitimate Pope, he displayed so many virtues and such admirable vigor in supporting the faith and the honor of the Church, that neither exile, nor the loss of goods, nor the most cruel torments, nor even death were ever capable of shaking him or making him give a sentence contrary to what his generous predecessors had done. Anastasius and Liberatus say that he was the son of Saint Hormisdas, who ha d been Pope bef saint Hormisdas Pope and father of Saint Silverius. ore him. Saint Hormisdas had had him from a legitimate marriage before being promoted to ecclesiastical Orders; but if he was his son according to the flesh, he was even more so according to the spirit; and if he inherited his goods by the right of birth, he was much more the heir of his faith, his piety, his constancy, and his firmness in fighting the heretics.

When the Empress learned of his election, she asked him for the restoration of Anthimus, Patriarch of Constantinople, whom Pope Agapetus had deposed as a Eutychian heretic. He replied generously that he could not do so, because the deposition of this heretic was not only legitimate, but also entirely necessary to prevent the spread of his errors. The Empress, who expected this answer, immediately commanded Belisarius, who had taken Rome from the Goths, to drive Bélisaire Byzantine general who deposed Silverius under the orders of Theodora. out this blessed Pontiff and to put the archdeacon Vigilius in his place. This captain, who, despite his warlike temperament, did not fail to have a fear of God and piety, received this order with sorrow; he feared that by laying hands on the Lord's anointed, he would draw upon himself and his armies the scourges of divine justice, and that an action as unjust and as violent as that of giving a successor to a still-living Pope would oblige God to abandon the empire and refuse it His protection.

In the end he yielded; he had the weakness to say: "The Empress commands, I must obey. The ruin of Silverius cannot be imputed to me. The person who is the author of it will answer for it before God on the last day." Vigilius, for his part, pressed for the execution of Theodora's plan. Moreover, Belisarius was obsessed by Antonina, his wife, who was the confidante of the Empress, and who had no less influence over her husband's mind than Theodora had over that of Justinian.

The enemies of Silverius, to cover the odiousness of their conduct, had recourse to a new stratagem, and published that the Pope was guilty of high treason. Vitiges, having left Ravenna in 537, advanced toward Rome with an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men to invest the city. During the siege, which lasted more than a year, the Romans and the Goths performed prodigies of valor. In the end, the latter were beaten and forced to withdraw. The Pope was accused of having maintained, during the siege, correspondence with the enemy, and a letter was produced which was claimed to have been written by him to the King of the Goths, inviting him to enter the city with the promise of opening the gates to him. Belisarius easily perceived the calumny and discovered that the letter was forged. It was proven that it had been forged by a lawyer named Marc and by Julian, one of the soldiers of the guard, both suborned by the enemies of the Pope. Thus, the accusation brought against him had no further consequences; but Belisarius did not for that reason abandon Theodora's project; he pressed the Pope to do what the Empress demanded of him, assuring him that he had no other means of keeping his see and avoiding the misfortunes with which he was threatened. Silverius always replied that he would not condemn the Council of Chalcedon and that he would not receive the heretics into communion.

Having left the general's house, he retired to the Basilica of Saint Sabina, where he hoped to find a secure asylum; but a few days later, he was drawn from it by a ruse and taken to the Pincian Palace, where the Roman general had taken up residence during the siege. He was made to enter alone; his clergy, who had accompanied him, remained at the door and did not see him again. Antonina, sitting on her bed, overwhelmed him with reproaches. Immediately, a subdeacon removed his pallium; he was then led into another apartment, where he was stripped of his pontifical ornaments and clothed in a monastic habit; after which it was published that Silverius was deposed and had become a monk. The next day, Belisarius proceeded to the election of his successor. It was known in advance that it would be Vigilius. He was installed on November 22, 537.

As for Silverius, he was sent into exile to Patara, a city in Lycia, which is a province of Asia. He felt extreme joy in suffering this persecution for the defense of the faith, and he was no less content in the miseries of his exile than he had been in the honors of the first see of the world.

The bishop of Patara received him in a very honorable manner and took up his defense boldly; he even traveled to Constantinople, where he requested a private audience with the emperor. Having obtained it, he spoke to the prince with generous freedom and threatened him with the judgments of God if he did not repair the scandal. "There are," he said, "many kings in the world; but there is only one Pope in the Church of the entire universe." These words, in the mouth of an Eastern bishop, show that the supremacy of the see of Rome was un iversally Justinien Byzantine emperor under whose reign Simeon began his religious life. recognized.

Justinian had not until then been informed of the true state of affairs. Struck by what the bishop of Patara had just told him, he gave orders for the return of Silverius to Rome and wished for him to be restored to his see if it were proven that he had not maintained intelligence with the Goths; he added that he should be transferred to some other see in the event that he were found guilty.

The Empress did everything she could to prevent this order from being executed; but Justinian remained firm, and Silverius returned to Italy. The archdeacon Vigilius, who had been put in his place, being informed of this return, which made him fear being deposed, went to find Belisarius, and told him that, if he did not put Silverius into his hands, he would not provide the money he had promised for being elected. The desire to have this money was stronger in the mind of this general than the fear of offending God and the apprehension of His judgments. He handed the Pope over to the people of Vigilius, and they relegated him to a desert island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Anastasius the Librarian says that it was the island of Ponza or Pontia, and Liberatus, that it was the island of Palmaria; perhaps, these two islands being neighbors, he was transferred from one to the other.

His invincible courage appeared in that he did not abandon the care of the universal Church nor the functions of his office. All the bishops sympathized with his persecution and wrote him letters of consolation. Amator also sent him, for his relief, thirty pounds of silver, which is about six hundred livres in our way of counting. Baronius and de Vence believe that it was Saint Amator, bishop of Autun; but that is impossible, since Saint Amator, bishop of Autun, is placed in the tables of that Church more than two hundred years earlier, and that in the time of Saint Silverius, it was Saint Agrippinus who occupied the see of that city. Silverius, in the reply he made to this bishop, told him, among other things, that he is fed with the bread of affliction and the water of anguish; but that he does not cease for that and will not cease to fulfill the duties of his office. Four bishops, who were those of Terracina, Fondi, Fermo, and Minturno, came to visit him. With them he held a small synod and pronounced a sentence of excommunication against Vigilius, accusing him of having usurped, with money, the Apostolic See, where, during the lifetime of Boniface, predecessor of Agapetus, he had wanted to place himself through schism. He sent this judgment to Vigilius: the latter was so offended by it that he had him confined more tightly and treated with more inhumanity. Thus, at the end of a year, this good Pope died of hunger and the other hardships of his exile, happier to end his life by such a glorious martyrdom than his competitor to possess a see to which he had ascended by violence and with mon ey. He was b Île Palmaria Final place of exile and death of Saint Silverius. uried on the island of Palmaria, the place of his exile. God testified, by many miracles, that his death was precious before His eyes: for all the sick who flocked to his tomb were healed. He had held the pontificate for two years and a few days, and, in one ordination, he had created thirteen priests, five deacons, and nineteen bishops. His death occurred on June 20 of the year 538.

It should not be forgotten here that after the death of this holy Pope, a marvelous change took place in the spirit of Vigilius, his persecutor: he deposed himself for a short time, knowing well that he could not be held as a legitimate Pope if he had no other title to retain the pontificate than the sacrilegious and tyrannical usurpation he had made of it; and, when he had been elected by the unanimous consent of the clergy, who did not deem it appropriate to elect another at the risk of causing a schism, he was changed like Saul into another man: he exercised the pastoral office with as much courage, piety, zeal, and faith as he had shown violence, avarice, and cruelty during the life of his predecessor. It was not the same for the Empress Theodora: as she always persevered in her obstinacy and heresy, Vigilius himself, from whom she had expected so much condescension for her sentiments, having gone to Constantinople, excommunicated her, and she died in impenitence. As for Belisarius, who had been the instrument of her malice, it is said that having been accused of conspiracy against the Emperor Justinian, this prince stripped him of all his goods and had his eyes put out: this treatment having reduced him to the utmost misery, he was forced to beg for alms in Constantinople. It was a terrible punishment for the sacrilege he had committed against the great Pope Silverius. However, he had already repented of it, and, in satisfaction for his crime, he had built a church, with an inscription on the portal, which marked that it was a public reparation for his fault. This inscription is still seen in Rome in the church of the religious called Cross-Bearers, between the Pincian Hill and the Quirinal. But we must believe that God did not judge this satisfaction sufficient, and that, desiring to show mercy to this great captain, He wished to punish him severely in this life, so as not to defer his punishment to the next.

Saint Silverius is represented with the costume and staff of a pilgrim, which alludes to his banishment from Rome by Theodora, the staff and pilgrim's habit sometimes being taken as the characteristic of exile. — The small church he carries in his hand, in some prints, may signify his steadfastness in upholding the faith, by refusing, despite the Empress's orders, to restore to the see of Antioch the patriarch Anthimus, a supporter of the Eutychians, and to disavow the decrees of the Pope his predecessor.

— On prints from the 16th century, he is seen carrying a sort of paten or bowl from which a small loaf of bread emerges, which recalls the meager food he received in his exile. — Finally, he has been painted more than once with the attribute of the Holy Trinity, in allusion to his struggles against Arianism.

Acta Sanctorum, vol. IV julii. — Cf. Acta Sanctorum, Histoire des souverains Pontifes romains.