Sylvanus of Gaza

Saint Silvanus, hieromartyr, was bishop of Gaza and received the crown of martyrdom in the year 311, at Caesarea of Palestine, in the persecution of Diocletian and his successors. The Orthodox Church commemorates him on 4 May by the old calendar, which is 17 May by the new, and the Catholic Church on 4 May.

The sources mention two holy hieromartyrs Silvanus of Gaza, a bishop (4 May) and a presbyter (14 October), but their lives are so alike that most probably there is only one man. Silvanus is sometimes called bishop of Caesarea, from the place where he was sentenced to forced labor, but by the place of his service he was of Gaza or near Gaza, as the Menaia also show.

Silvanus came from the environs of Gaza. In the world he had been a soldier. Wishing to serve God, he received the priesthood and then was ordained bishop of Gaza. He brought many pagans to Christianity. In the persecution of the emperor Diocletian, more exactly of his co-⁠ruler Maximin, he was brought to trial at Caesarea, was tortured, bore the torture bravely and was sentenced to hard labor in the copper mines of the Palestinian city of Phaeno. In this labor the holy bishop reached the utmost exhaustion but, always cheerful in spirit, preached Christ without ceasing to those around him. This roused the hatred of the pagans, who cut off his head. Forty other holy martyrs, who accepted Christianity at the bishop's word, died the same death with him. Their death followed in the year 311.