CONSTANTINE-SILVANUS

died c. 684 also called Constantine Of Mananali probable founder of the Middle Eastern sect of Paulicians, a group of Christian dualists. Constantine-Silvanus is said to have come from Mananali (Mananalis), near Samosata, Syria. In assuming the additional name of Silvanus, he intended to honour a companion of St. Paul; this duality of names was imitated by subsequent Paulician leaders. Becoming a noted teacher, he founded, during the reign (641668) of the Byzantine emperor Constans II, a Paulician community at Kibossa, near Colonia, Armenia, and directed it until his death. He died by stoning after his arrest by soldiers sent by the emperor Constantine IV (reigned 668685) to suppress heresy. The leader of this force, Symeon-Titus, became a convert to Paulicianism and was himself martyred (690). Insisting that the New Testament (as he interpreted it) should be the only written source of religious guidance, Constantine-Silvanus left no known writings.