Name Saint Publius Died 112 AD, Athens, Greece | ||
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Similar People Aristides of Athens, Philothei, Nectarios of Aegina, Quadratus of Athens | ||
Antiphon to saint publius by vincenzo bugeja 1860
Saint Publius (Maltese: San Publju) is a first century Maltese Saint. He is venerated as the first Bishop of Malta. St. Publius is Malta‘s first acknowledged saint, the prince of the island (Maltese: il-prinċep tal-gżira). According to Maltese Pauline Mythology, Publius' conversion led to Malta being the first Christian nation in the West. His feast day is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, of which traditions related and the day of celebration differ.
Contents
- Antiphon to saint publius by vincenzo bugeja 1860
- St publius festa floriana fun part
- History and tradition
- References
St publius festa floriana fun part
History and tradition
According to Tradition, it was Publius who received the Apostle Paul during his shipwreck on the island as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. According to the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul cured Publius' dysentery-afflicted father.
Apart from being patron saint of Floriana, St Publius is also one of the two patron saints of Malta beside St Paul. He was martyred c. 125, during the persecution of Emperor Hadrian, and canonised in the year 1634
His feast is celebrated on January 22, in the Roman Catholic Church, which places him as the successor of St. Dionysius the Areopagite (Denis the Areopagite), dating his martyrdom to ca. 112 AD.
In the Orthodox Church, however, his feast day is observed on March 13, and according to an epistle of Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, he is placed as the successor of Saint Narcissus of Athens, dating his martyrdom to the period of the persecution under Marcus Aurelius (161-180).
Contemporary historians, such as Professor Godfrey Wettinger, have made it clear that there is no single proof that St Paul ever was in Malta, other than in pseudo-Maltese history dating from the 11th to the 18th centuries. It is also well established that early Christianity was of the Orthodox tradition and that the island was conquered by the Muslims between 870 and 1091, during which period it also spent years uninhabited; meaning Christianity in Malta is not rooted on St Publius and St Paul as it is not of continuous tradition. Despite the Bible does not precisely mention Malta, Pauline Mythology is commonly presented as historical 'fact' in Malta, rooted in religious views, by the Roman Catholic Church. It is held that St Publius converted to Christianity after being 'cured' by St Paul, however the Bible does not mention that St Publius ever converted.
