The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Silvanus of Cirta
subdeacon 303; bishop from c. 305; banished AD 320 · Subdeacon of Cirta · Bishop of Cirta · Consecrator of Majorinus · Cirta (Constantina), Numidia
The Nicene Age
Who Silvanus of Cirta was
A subdeacon in 303 who found a silver casket and a silver candlestick hidden behind a jug and handed them over — the act that made him, in the vocabulary of the schism, a traditor. Elected bishop of Cirta around 305 over the shouted objection of the citizens, carried to his chair on the shoulders of a sand-quarry worker, he went on to consecrate Majorinus against Caecilian at Carthage and so to launch the Donatist schism. In 320 his own deacon Nundinarius prosecuted him before the governor of Numidia for betrayal, theft from the temple of Serapis, simony and violent election. Zenophilus found against him and he was banished.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees.
Common questions
When did Silvanus live?
Silvanus of Cirta is dated subdeacon 303; bishop from c. 305; banished AD 320 in the archive, which places Silvanus in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Silvanus?
Silvanus of Cirta is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Municipal acts of Cirta and Gesta apud Zenophilum. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Silvanus from?
The archive associates Silvanus of Cirta with Cirta (Constantina), Numidia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Silvanus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Silvanus of Cirta to 6 other figures, including Nundinarius, Secundus of Tigisis, Majorinus of Carthage and Purpurius of Limata. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Acts of Munatius Felix, 19 May 303 — read into evidence before Zenophilus
c. AD 303Silvanus brought forth a silver casket and a silver candlestick, for he said that he had found them behind a jug. Victor of Aufidus said to Silvanus: ‘Had you not found these things, you were a dead man.’Municipal acts of Cirta · Gesta apud Zenophilum, Acts of 19 May 303 · source text
The trial before Domitius Zenophilus, 13 December 320
c. AD 320Zenophilus said: ‘From the Acts and letters which have been read aloud, it is clear that Silvanus is a Betrayer.’Gesta apud Zenophilum · Gesta apud Zenophilum, trial of 13 December 320 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Named alongside Silvanus in the sources
These figures are placed with Silvanus by the record — in a council roll, a martyr-act, a letter or a history — without Silvanus naming them in return.
- Carosus
- Catullinus
- Marcuclius
- Victor of Aufidus
- Paul of Cirta
- Felix of Aptunga
- Castus
- Crescentianus
- Domitius Zenophilus
- Dontius
- Fortis
- Mutus
- Sabinus the Numidian
- Saturninus
- Victor of Samsuricum
- Victor the Fuller
- Victor the Grammarian
- Optatus of Milevis
Events in this lifetime
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Silvanus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.