The Holy Apostle Silas, whom the greatest apostles chose for the service of preaching the word of God, first with the Holy Great Apostle Paul, and then alone suffered much toil in the proclamation of Christ. At first, when a reference was made from the assembly of the apostles in Jerusalem to the Church of Antioch, so as not to circumcise those who came from the Gentiles to the Holy Faith, St. Silas was sent with other famous men, as St. Luke writes about it. In the Acts of the Apostles: The apostles and elders with all the congregation, choosing men from among themselves, sent to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, Judas named Warsaw, and Silas, the famous man among the brethren.
So they went up to Antioch, and gathered the people together, and gave them a letter, and they rejoiced to read it. And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. Then Silas wanted to spend time in Antioch, and Judah returned to Jerusalem. After this St. Paul wanted to go to other countries to preach, and, choosing St. Silas, he went with him, entrusting himself to the gift of God by the brethren. He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the Churches. And they departed thence, and came to Derbe and Lystra. And in Philippi they cast forth a spirit of divination, which brought forth virgins through their enchantments; And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was lost, they seized Paul and Silas, and brought them to the chief priests, slandering and saying, These men are troubling our city. So many people gathered around them, and the princes tore their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. And they smote them with the edge of the sword, and cast them into the dungeon;
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| Icon showing God´s 70 Holy Apostles |
And at midnight Paul and Silas were singing, praying to God. Then suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and the doors were opened, and the bonds were loosed. And the guard of the dungeon, waking up, saw the doors of the dungeon open, and, taking out his knife, wanted to stab himself, it seemed to him that the bound had escaped. But Paul called to him and stopped him from killing himself. Then the keeper of the trembling fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas, and took them out, and brought them into his house, and washed their stripes, and was baptized with all his house. From there the Holy Apostles Paul and Silas went to Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica. And many of the Greeks and many of the good women joined them. And the unyielding Jews took some wicked and quarrelsome men out of envy and disturbed the people against the apostles of Christ, desiring to kill them. And the brethren sent away Paul and Silas by night into the city: but the Jews which were at Thessalonica went out against them, and preached the word. So Paul went to sea, and Silas and Timothy remained there. But not many days later, when they were gone, they found St. Paul in Corinth. Then St. Silas was made bishop of Corinth, and after working hard enough to preach the Word of God and doing signs and wonders, he went to the Lord.
The Holy Apostle Silvanus worked hard to preach the word to both the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Both of these apostles mention him in their letters. The Holy Apostle Peter, in his catholic letter, writes thus: With Silvanus, the faithful brother, as I reckon, I have written little to you. Likewise, St. Paul writes in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians: The Son of God, Jesus Christ, the One whom we preach to you through me and through Silvanus. Hence it is true that St. Silvanus at that time served each of the greatest apostles and was a partaker of their toils and sorrows in the good news of Christ. And, becoming a bishop in Thessalonica, he suffered many dangers to the needs of the faith, and ascended to Christ, the Crown-Giver.
The Holy Apostle Crescent is mentioned by Saint Paul in the Second Epistle to Timothy - which is written in the Greek language - saying: Crescent is in Galatia, sent by me to preach. He was a bishop in Galatia, then preached Christ in Gaul. In Vienna, the city of Germany, he appointed Zacharias, his disciple, as bishop, and he returned to Galatia and ended his martyrdom during the reign of Trajan.
The Holy Apostle Epenetus is mentioned by St. Paul in the Letter to the Romans, saying: Worship Epenetus, my beloved, who is the beginning of Achaia in Christ. He was a bishop in Carthage.
The Holy Apostle Andronicus (Saint Andronicus, apart from this day, is honored and in the 17 days of May, together with June, his assistant) is mentioned by Saint Paul in the same letter, saying: Worship Andronicus, and calling him relative and together enslaved, proclaimed among the apostles, who before him believed in Christ. He was bishop of Pannonia.
… Holy Apostles , Pray for Us …
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