The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Sylvester I of Rome
d. 335 · Bishop of Rome through the Nicene settlement · Rome
The Nicene Age
Who Sylvester I of Rome was
Bishop of Rome for over two decades (314–335) spanning Constantine’s whole Christian reign — the great basilicas of the Lateran, St Peter’s, and St Paul’s rose during his episcopate. Too aged or too cautious to travel, he was represented at Nicaea by two presbyters, Vitus and Vincentius, who signed before most bishops. His quiet historical record was later buried under the most consequential forgery of the Middle Ages — the ‘Donation of Constantine,’ with its legend of his baptizing the emperor — which this archive marks plainly as fiction. The real Sylvester governed the transition it fantasized.
Also listed in the bishops of Rome.
Common questions
When did Sylvester I die?
Sylvester I of Rome is dated d. 335 in the archive, which places Sylvester I in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400).
Which early sources mention Sylvester I?
Sylvester I of Rome is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The council of Arles, Conciliar record and The chronographer of 354. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Sylvester I from?
The archive associates Sylvester I of Rome with Rome.
Who were Sylvester I’s contemporaries?
The archive links Sylvester I of Rome to 4 other figures, including Miltiades (Melchiades) of Rome, Constantine the Great, Hosius of Cordova and Julius I of Rome. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Synodal letter of Arles, addressed 'to the most beloved pope Sylvester'
c. AD 314Domino sanctissimo fratri Silvestro — To the most holy lord and brother Sylvester.The council of Arles · Synodal letter of Arles · source text
Ecclesiastical History X; conciliar subscriptions of Nicaea
c. AD 335For the church of Rome, the presbyters Vitus and Vincentius subscribed in the place of their bishop Silvester.Conciliar record · source text
Liberian Catalogue & Depositio episcoporum ('Silvestri in Priscillae')
c. AD 354Silvestri in Priscillae — Sylvester, in the cemetery of Priscilla.The chronographer of 354 · Liberian Catalogue · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Sylvester I.
- 1Rome