Silverius was the son of Pope Hormisdas who had been married before becoming one of the higher clergy. He entered the service of the Church and was sub-deacon at Rome when Pope Agapetus died at Constantinople, April 22, 536. The Empress Theodora wanted to have Vigilius, a Roman deacon from Constantinople, to be elected as pope. However, Theodatus, King of the Ostrogoths, who wished to prevent the election of a pope connected with Constantinople, forestalled her, and by his influence the sub-deacon Silverius was chosen.
Theodora sought to use Belisarius for the carrying out of her plan to depose Silverius and to place the Roman deacon Vigilius in his place.
Following a conspiracy against him, Silverius was arrested in March, 537, stripped of his episcopal dress, given the clothing of a monk and carried off to exile in the East. Silverius was taken to Lycia, where he was sent to reside at Patara.
The Bishop of Patara very soon discovered that the exiled pope was innocent. He journeyed to Constantinople and was able to lay before the Emperor Justinian such proofs of the innocence of Silverius. The emperor wrote to Belisarius commanding a new investigation of the matter. At the same time the emperor allowed Silverius to return to Italy, and the latter soon entered the country, apparently at Naples. However, Vigilius arranged to take charge of his unlawfully deposed predecessor. He evidently acted in agreement with the Empress Theodora and was aided by Antonina, the wife of Belisarius.
Silverius was taken to the Island of Palmaria in the Tyrrhenian Sea and kept there in close confinement. There he died in consequence of the privations and harsh treatment he endured. He was buried in the island, according to the testimony of the “Liber pontificalis” on June 20; his remains were never taken from Palmaria. According to the same witness, he was invoked after death by the believers who visited his grave. In later times he was venerated as a saint.
Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Julius of Caerleon
2. Saint Apollinaris of Ravenna
3. Saint Adalbert of Magdeburg
4. Saint John of Pulsano
5. Saint Macarius of Petra
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