Feastday: January 21
Patron: of Floriana, Malta, country of Malta
Birth: 33
Death: 125
Martyred bishop. The prefect of Malta, he was described in the Acts of the Apostles as "the chief man of the island" at the time when St. Paul, who was being taken to Rome, was shipwrecked on the isle. Paul cured Publius' father of fever and dysentery, and Publius and Paul became good friends. According to tradition, Publius became the first bishop of Malta and also the first Saint of Malta, suffering martyrdom during the persecution of the Church under Emperor Hadrian.
Saint Publius (Maltese: San Publju; Greek: Πούπλιος) is a first century Maltese Saint. He is venerated as the first Bishop of Malta and one of the first Bishops of Athens. St. Publius is Malta's first acknowledged saint, the prince of the island (Maltese: il-prinċep tal-gżira). According to Maltese Christian tradition, Publius' conversion led to Malta being the first Christian nation in the West. His feast day is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, of which the traditions related and the day of celebration differ.
History and tradition
According to Christian tradition, it was Publius who received Paul the Apostle during his shipwreck on the island as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul cured Publius' dysentery-afflicted father.
- "In the vicinity of that place were lands belonging to a man named Publius, the chief of the island. He welcomed us and received us cordially as his guests for three days. It so happened that the father of Publius was sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him. After this had taken place, the rest of the sick on the island came to Paul and were cured. They paid us great honor and when we eventually set sail they brought us the provisions we needed." — Acts 28:7–10, New American Bible
Apart from being patron saint of Floriana, Publius is also one of the two patron saints of Malta beside Paul. He was martyred c. 125, during the persecution of Emperor Hadrian, and canonised in the year 1634.
His feast is celebrated on January 22, in the Roman Catholic Church, which places him as the successor of Dionysius the Areopagite (Denis the Areopagite), dating his martyrdom to c. 112 AD.
In the Orthodox Church, however, his feast day is observed on March 13, and according to an epistle of Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, he is placed as the successor of Saint Narcissus of Athens, dating his martyrdom to the period of the persecution under Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180).
Contemporary historians, such as Professor Godfrey Wettinger, have made it clear, that in his opinion, there is no physical proof that Paul ever was in Malta, other than in pseudo-Maltese history dating from the 11th to the 18th centuries. It is also well established that the island was conquered by the Muslims between 870 and 1091, during which period it also spent years uninhabited; meaning Christianity in Malta is not rooted on Publius and Paul as it is not of continuous tradition. The Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 28) does specifically mention Malta in connection with Paul's voyage and shipwreck, however, the Pauline Mythology commonly presented as historical 'fact' in Malta, is rooted in religious views, specifically that of the Roman Catholic Church which is very powerful on the island. It is held that Publius converted to Christianity after his father was cured of fever and dysentery by Paul, however the Bible does not mention that Publius ever converted.
