www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Prayer Happy St Pontius Pilate's Day

A happy feast of this local saint of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to all who observe it today!

Alex

Dear Alex:

Forgive my utter ignorance but how did Pontius Pilate ever become a local saint in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church?

Was it because he "washed" his hands from any complicity in Jesus' public trial or was it because he was, by any chance, a Ethiopian in Roman disguise? :rolleyes:

Amado
Perpetually perplexed!

This one has me beat as well.

Please educate the unenlightened

Interesting our dear Alex, to say the least, very interesting. But, happy feast day anyway.

Dear Friends,

Now that I have your attention . . .

There are deuterocanonical writings that are read and recognized by the Ethiopian Church that are letters between Pontius Pilate and Herod about Christ at the time of His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

In the first letter of Pilate, he chides Herod for advising him to crucify Christ. "It was no good thing you counselled me to do, Herod. . ."

He had promised his wife, Claudia-Procla (honoured as a saint throughout the East), not to bring any harm to Christ and even gave her his signet ring of authority as assurance . . .

She then left him when Pilate condemned Christ.

Then Pilate goes on, in this letter, to say how his wife returned to him with some soldiers who were present at the Crucifixion and who had become believers in Jesus.

She said to him, "He awaits you!"

Pilate put on humble sack-cloth and, in a spirit of repentance, went with her.

She led him to a clearing where "there were about 500 people."

Then Pilate says that he saw Christ approach him and, in awe and amazement, he fell on the ground - the ground seemed to him to move and the smell of sweet roses was all around.

Christ placed His Hands on him, Pilate says, and "the marks of the nails were plainly to be seen."

"Then He said to me, 'Blessed are you in all generations, Pontius Pilate, for in the time of your governance were fulfilled all that the law and the prophets foretold about Me."

Pilate, according to these texts, became a believer with his wife.

He was, however, recalled to Rome to explain before Tiberius Caesar the goings-on involving Christ.

We know from Origen that Pilate wrote a letter of report to Tiberius and was, in fact, recalled to Rome where he was executed - I suppose Tiberius didn't like his report!

The letters relate how Tiberius, in questioning Pilate, demanded to know why he didn't simply use the powers of Christ in the service of the empire . . .

In any event, Pilate was sentenced to death and as he knelt in readiness for the sword, he prayed, "Lord receive my spirit."

St Claudia-Procla stood nearby as the sword took off Pilate's head.

She saw an angel catch it before it fell to the ground and she herself died of joy that very moment.

The Ethiopian Church placed both Pontius Pilate and Claudia-Procla in its calendar for June 25.

In fact, the East has always had a positive regard for Pilate, unlike the West.

Alex

Holy Father Pontius, pray to God for us!

I believe it was Eusebius who commented in his History that Pilate committed suicide out of despair in condemning Christ to death.

Dear Bisantino,

Yes, that was the later tradition, but the Letters of Pilate represent a much earlier one.

And it would certainly not be the first time in the history of the Church where the same person is venerated as a saint by some, and villified by others.

Even in England, one St Nicholas Owen was put to death for 17 years of carpentry work where he built "priest holes" and other hiding places for the recusant clergy.

He was caught and tortured using the thumb-screw. To this day, the Anglicans maintain he committed suicide in prison from the pain he suffered - but the RC Church canonized him a martyr.

Alex