Lentorama 2010: Two Millennia of Pointy Hats

Day 7 - St. Sylvester I (314-355)

Not surprisingly, for a pope with such a long reign (the 8th longest to date), quite a bit happened to the church during Sylvester's tenure. The Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, putting to rest (for the moment) the fear of persecution. Many of the great churches of Rome - including St. John's Lateran and the first St. Peter's - were built. And the first Council of Nicaea was held, marking the first attempt to bring some uniformity to Christian worship and practice.

And yet, we have little idea of how involved Sylvester was with any of this. Legends abound regarding Sylvester's relationship with Constantine, but most of the documentation on this is apparently fraudulent (from the Donation of Constantine on down). He must have had a hand in the building of churches, but we don't know how much. And he didn't even attend the council, sending his legates instead (though he would approve of the council's actions afterwards).

Some of this can be chalked up to the intervention of years, but you'd think someone who served at a time like this would have a better paper trail.