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Icon of St. Sylvia of Rome,
mother of St. Gregory the Great (the Dialogist), Pope.
Feast: Nov. 3
St. Sylvia had two sons, of
whom one became Pope St. Gregory the Great (the Dialogist). Her
sisters-in-law Trasilla and Emiliana, are also revered, as well as her
other sister-in-law Gordian and her husband Gordianus. She was a native
of Sicily or Rome, and her husband Gordianus was Roman regionarius.
Sylvia was noted for her great piety. She gave her sons an
excellent education. After the death of her husband, she in a "cell" by
the gate of Blessed Paul. She was venerated from an early date. She had
built a chapel in her house; in 645, monks from St. Sabbas' monastery
in Palestine settled in this house and dedicated the monastic community
to St. Sabbas. In the 9th century an oratory was erected over her
former dwelling near the Basilica of St. Sabbas. O Holy Mother Sylvia,
pray to God for us!
Top Icon: unknown provenance.
The icon is thought to have been made in Italy.
Next Icon: an ancient depiction possibly nearly contemporaneous with
the life of the Saint. St. Gregory the Great is in the centre flanked
by his parents Gordian and Sylvia.
Beneath the icon is a thumbnail of St. Sabbas, the Palestinian
monastery which sprang out of St. Sylvia's residence at Rome.
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