Apostle of the Seventy

Holy Apostle Silas

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Companion of Saint Paul who preached the Gospel, endured imprisonment and strengthened the early Churches.

Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — Apostle Silas of the Seventy, Bibliographic reference — The Lives of the Holy Apostles, drawn from the Menology of Saint Dimitri of Rostov and the Great Synaxaristes. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.

Life and Witness

Life and Historical Setting

Saint Silas was a leading brother in the Church of Jerusalem and accompanied the Apostle Paul on his missionary journey. Beaten and imprisoned at Philippi, they prayed and sang hymns until an earthquake opened the prison doors.

Miracles, Relics and Places of Veneration

Jerusalem, Antioch, Philippi and Corinth form the Scriptural and apostolic setting of his ministry. Later accounts of his episcopate and repose are identified as ecclesiastical tradition where they extend beyond the Acts of the Apostles.

Iconography and Spiritual Meaning

The saint is shown with a Gospel scroll or book, expressing apostolic preaching. His or her authority is service to Christ and faithful transmission of the Gospel within the communion of the Church.

Feast Day

July 30 — Holy Apostle Silas.

In the Hagiographical Tradition

The wider Orthodox hagiographical tradition concerning the Apostles is also preserved in The Lives of the Holy Apostles, an English collection drawn chiefly from the Menology of Saint Dimitri of Rostov and the Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church.