Christian mythology

A selection of Christian Martyrs, Hermits & Virgins

St. SILVERIUS

Christian Saint

Also known as Sylvere

Patron Saint of the Island of Ponza, Italy

Pope — but not for long.

The Byzantine Empress Theodora wanted papal blessings for her heretical buddies, but he would have none of it. So she decided to get shot of him and try her luck with the next Pope.

A plot was hatched whereby Silverius was accused of hob-nobbing with Goths and selling out the Empire to its enemies. The evidence was flimsy, but Emperors have never needed much convincing when it comes to matters of treason.

So the defrocked Pope was sent off to the obscure little island of Palmarola, near Ponza, where he either starved or was murdered. Or possibly drowned, ate poisonous mushrooms, or fell out of a tree. Nobody was there to take notes so it’s all surmise. Scholars can’t even agree which island it was, so what chance do we have?

However, fishermen from the island of Ponza once claimed that a vision of Silverius saved them from perishing in a storm. So perhaps you’d better ask them.

St. Silverius Facts and Figures

Name: Silverius
Pronunciation: Coming soon
Alternative names: Sylvere

Gender: Male
Type: Saint
Birth and Death Dates: 465-537
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present

Role: Unknown at present

Good/Evil Rating: Unknown at present
Popularity index: 1371

Copy this link to share with anyone:



Share this page on social media:


Link to this page:

HTML: To link to this page, just copy and paste the link below into your blog, web page or email.

BBCODE: To link to this page in a forum post or comment box, just copy and paste the link code below:

Cite this article

Here's the info you need to cite this page. Just copy the text in the box below.


Article last revised on April 07, 2019 by the Godchecker data dwarves.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

Permissions page


Oh woe. Javascript is switched off in your browser.
Some bits of this website may not work unless you switch it on.