Martyr 4th century

Martyrs Bianor and Silvanus of Pisidia

Also known as Bianor · Silvanus

Bianor, who confessed Christ steadfastly under torture, and Silvanus, converted by beholding his constancy, who were martyred together in Pisidia.

Feast Day
July 10
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Commemorated as

The Holy Martyrs Bianor and Silvanus of Pisidia

Life

Bianor and Silvanus are two early Christian martyrs of Pisidia, a region of Asia Minor, commemorated together by the Orthodox Church on July 10. They are venerated as a single joined commemoration, their martyrdoms bound by the witness that the one inspired in the other.

According to the synaxarion, Bianor came from the district of Pisidia and was arrested as a confessor of Christianity. Brought before the local authority, he refused to renounce Christ and endured severe tortures without yielding. A man named Silvanus, who looked on as Bianor suffered, was so moved by his endurance and courage that he openly declared his own faith in Christ. Silvanus's tongue was cut out and he was beheaded, and Bianor, after prolonged torture, was likewise beheaded.

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Account of the Martyrdom

The Orthodox synaxarion relates that Bianor was a native of the Pisidia district of Asia Minor and was brought before the prefect of the city of Isauria in Lykaonia, who demanded that he renounce Christ. Bianor stood steadfast in the faith despite the tortures inflicted upon him.

Silvanus is presented not as a fellow prisoner but as a bystander whose conversion was occasioned by the spectacle of Bianor's constancy. Having witnessed the martyr's endurance, he confessed Christ openly; his tongue was cut out and he was then beheaded. Bianor was beheaded after a longer ordeal of torture.

A Greek synaxarion tradition records a more detailed catalogue of Bianor's sufferings before a governor it names Severian — including suspension, beating, burning, the extraction of his teeth, the cutting off of his ears, the piercing of his ankles, the removal of an eye, and scalping before his beheading. These specifics are particular to that source; this same tradition also notes uncertainty in the manuscript place-name, suggesting it may refer to Aphrodisias rather than the locale as transmitted.

Dating

The precise date of the martyrdom is not known. The tradition presumes that Bianor and Silvanus died in Pisidia during the persecution under the Roman emperor Diocletian (reigned 284-305), placing their deaths among the late persecutions of the early Church.

Notes

Named pair commemorated as one; not Silvanus of the Kiev Caves.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints