Is Pontius Pilate a saint?

Pontius Pilate is an interesting character of the New Testament. He is a symbol of the power of Rome in Judea, and yet he refuses to punish Jesus for rebelling against this power. When the Sanhedrin presents his prisoner to him, Pilate subjects him to cross-examination, and then tells the crowd: behold, I am bringing him to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him. (John 19:4) Pilate offers the crowd the opportunity to forgive Jesus Christ, but they refuse. Therefore, he washes his hands of this whole matter and sentences Jesus Christ to crucifixion and death.

Is Pontius Pilate a saint?

Pontius Pilate was a Roman ruler under Emperor Tiberias in the 1st century. He is best known as the judge at the trial of the Savior of the World.

Who was Pontius Pilate? History tells us very little about the youth of Marcus Pontius Pilate. It is believed that he came from the Samni region in central Italy. Pilate necessarily had a knighthood, but apart from that we know little about his family or origins. Some thought that he was just a freedman who got his name from the pileus (cap of freed slaves), but there seems to be insufficient evidence for this, and it is unlikely that a freedman would have reached such a high position. He was a protégé of Lucius Aelius Sejanus, a Roman nobleman who by that time had practically become a co-ruler of Emperor Tiberius. It was Sejanus who appointed Pilate prefect of Judea in the year 26. Just a few years later, in October 31, Seyan was convicted of treason and executed.

Pontius served as prefect of Judea from 26 to 36 AD. He accused Christ of treason and declared that the Savior considered himself the king of the Jews, and crucified Him. Pilate died in 39 AD. The cause of ego death remains a mystery.

Pilate does not really appear on the scene until Emperor Tiberius appoints him Roman prefect of Judea in AD 26. The Roman prefect exercised the power of the supreme judge - this means that only the prefect had the right to order the execution of a criminal. The prefect or governor was also responsible for collecting taxes, building projects and maintaining law and order. Apparently, Pilate's ascension to such a post was the result of the direct intervention of very influential friends.

This is not surprising. After all, at a time when the typical term for a Roman prefect was one to three years, Pilate held the post of the fifth Roman procurator for 10 years. Taking his place, Pontius Pilate replaced Valerius Gratus.

It is known that exactly what Pilate could not agree on, he achieved with the help of brute force. Pilate is depicted as a man ready to shed innocent blood for the sake of solving a political problem. In a healthy political culture, accusing a person of sacrificing principles for political gain would be a harsh accusation. But in a culture in which triangulation has become a political rather than a cartographic term, Pilate's behavior is not so much reproach as admiration.

The Gospel tells us that Pontius Pilate allowed Joseph of Arimathea to take the body of Jesus Christ and bury it with dignity in his own grave. This was vital to confirm the resurrection - the stone fell from the tomb - and Christ rose from the dead. Without this intervention, the Lord's body would have been thrown into a common pit in the valley of Enno, and it would have been much more difficult to verify it after the resurrection.

All evangelical stories agree that Pilate did not consider Jesus Christ guilty of anything deserving of death. And Pilate clearly has the power to free the Lord or crucify Him, as he himself tells Christ. Take another look at Pilate in action, he is a whirlwind of activity, trying one maneuver or another, all attempts to avoid what he knows must be done. He tries to return the case to the Sanhedrin, although he already suspects that the Lord is innocent. When they refuse, he accepts the case and asks Jesus various questions, no doubt hoping for some information that will give him a way out of this case. Accepting the case, Pilate takes responsibility for passing the correct judgment, but although he does not find evidence against Christ, he flatly refuses to release Him.

Having learned that Jesus Christ is a Galilean, he sends the whole matter to Herod, who is in Jerusalem. According to Pilat, this is not a federal problem. This is a provincial matter. Herod refuses to cooperate and sends the Savior back to Pilate. Pilate tries to capture his prisoner and free him. In a masterful move, he decides that he can condemn Jesus Christ unconditionally, and then release him under the Easter amnesty. In order to guarantee the desired result, in which Pilate would take responsibility for both the condemnation and the release of the Lord, Pilate offers the bloodthirsty Barabbas to the crowd as a dubious alternative. Alas, the crowd is not diverted from business and chooses Barabbas; Pilate's plan is thwarted.

Pilate had the soldiers scourge Christ; a serious punishment in itself, and he applied it to an innocent man solely in the hope of placating the mob. The crowd does not calm down. Pilate repeatedly asks the crowd what they want to do with the Savior. It seems that he is hurt by the accusation that he will be accused of disloyalty to the Emperor if he releases Jesus Christ. Therefore, he gives the order for crucifixion. Having washed his hands, Pilate denies any responsibility for the order given to him. He is not responsible; this is the will of the people.

All this within four to five hours, because the Sanhedrin brought the Lord to Pilate early in the morning (perhaps already at 6 o'clock in the morning), and by noon He had already been crucified. Pilate was quick. Pilate was clever. The holy evangelist Luke gives another testimony of Pilate's cunning: On that day, Herod and Pilate, who had been at odds with each other until now, became friends (Lk. 23:12). After all, this was not what he wanted, he tried to avoid it, and in any case it was not his fault, since the crowd was determined.

Yes, he gave the order, but he washed his hands. He was clearly personally against the crucifixion. Politics simply demanded that he not impose this point of view on the crowd, which had other ideas.

What prompted Pilate to do this? First, he had a guilty conscience after his wife warned him not to "have anything to do with this innocent man" because she had this dream. Second, being a Roman, he was probably quite superstitious about the Son of God, which made him nervous about who Christ really was. Thirdly, he witnessed the supernatural darkness that covered the earth at the time of the crucifixion. It would probably scare the ego. Fourthly, the prophecy of Isaiah from the 53rd chapter had to be fulfilled that Jesus Christ will not be thrown into the common pit as a criminal, but will be "with the rich in the grave." Pilate had to give permission for this.

Pilate Evangelii is a man skilled in the art of politics. He is, without a doubt, prudent, because he knows how to calculate the various options that open up before him. He has experience. He puts all this at the service of his political success; so much so that he did not turn pale from ordering the death of an innocent person. Pilate is the prototype of a worldly person who knows what needs to be done and strives to do as much as possible without any personal sacrifice, but easily gives in to pressure from those whose interests lie in him doing otherwise. He would have willingly justified Christ and even made serious efforts in this direction, but at the same time gave way when his own position was threatened by danger.

The fact that such behavior would be considered admirable indicates a serious moral turpitude. Evangelists probably did not doubt that they were drawing a revealing image of Pilate. The ego's behavior is not like that of a person overcome with anger or overwhelmed by events. He is cool-headed and in control. Ego compromises are not capitulations. These are careful calculations; calculations in which the fate of an innocent person is no more than dust on the scales.

Undoubtedly, these things troubled him for the rest of his life. And his wife believed in the Lord

Of course, Pontius Pilate received a not very flattering epitaph, which was repeated in churches throughout the Christian era: "Crucified under Pontius Pilate."

So why is there a widespread opinion about Pilate as a sympathetic figure in extra-biblical sources? Probably, because so many of our political, moral and cultural leaders imitate him, and they are widely praised for moderation, willingness to compromise and ability to unite a winning coalition. And if you have to sacrifice several principles on this path, they can also be washed away.

It would seem that this is enough to include Pilate in the big book of biblical thieves. However, the early Christian tradition was much more inclined to place the blame on the Jewish people than on the Roman authorities. The early Church Fathers wanted to distinguish Christianity from Judaism, and this was a good way to do it. One text of the fourth century of our era called "Acts of Pilate" (Acta Pilati) rehabilitated the ruler of Judea. After the crucifixion, he calls "all the chiefs, and scribes, and lawyers" and tries to get to the truth of the matter. They admit that it turns out that Jesus, whom they crucified, is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the true Almighty God.

His wife also speaks in the same source. Pilate's wife is not named in the Gospel of Matthew, where she appears in the narrative of the Passion of Christ. However, tradition says that her name was Claudia Procula and she was a relative of Emperor Augustus, possibly one of his great-nieces. This can be found in the Acta Pilati (also called the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus), which is partially based on official Roman records from first-century Jerusalem. An ancient tradition says that the holy apostle Paul knew her and mentioned her in his Second Letter to Timothy: "Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers of the apostles greet" (4:21). Claudia is revered as a saint by the Greek and Coptic churches. Many Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the memory of Pilate's wife on October 27. The Greek Orthodox Church also recognizes her as a martyr. And the Orthodox Church of Ukraine honors her on November 9.

As for the reasons why, according to the tradition under consideration, Pilate's wife testified about Christ's messiahship, and Pilate finally repented of his sin and asked for forgiveness at Christ's tomb. Then he converted to Christianity and became a secret Christian, and then the Romans and Jews crucified him precisely for this. Originally they crucified the ego on their own cross; then they took him down and crucified him on the cross of Christ in order to mock him and imitate the sufferings of Christ.

The next emperor, Caligula, did not like Pilate, but whether he ordered Pilate to be exiled, executed or committed suicide remains unclear. The rest of the events of his rule are not of great importance. Some ancient sources speak of him as an unyielding, merciless and stubborn man. The Jews hated him and his administration, because he was not only very strict, but also paid little attention to the peculiarities of their mentality and way of life.

Pilate was recalled to Rome in 36 after the suppression of the Samaritan pilgrimage. The Jewish historian Josephus, the philosopher Philo of Alexandria and the Gospel of Luke mention cases of tension and violence between the Jewish population and Pilate's administration. Many of them are connected with the actions of Pilate, which offended the religious feelings of the Jews. It is recorded in the Christian gospels that Pilate ordered the crucifixion of Jesus at some point during his tenure; Josephus Flavius ​​and the Roman historian Tacitus later also recorded this information.

Based on the mention of the second-century pagan philosopher Celsus and the Christian apologist Origen, most modern historians believe that Pilate simply resigned after his dismissal. Modern historians evaluate Pilate differently as an effective ruler; while some believe that he was a particularly cruel and inefficient governor, others argue that his long tenure in office means that he should have been competent enough.

According to Josephus, Pilate's removal from office occurred because he brutally suppressed the armed Samaritan movement on Mount Gerizim. He was sent back to Rome by the legate of Syria to answer for this before Tiberius, although the emperor died before Pilate arrived.

Nothing is known about what happened to him after that. According to one legend, Pilate committed suicide in his shame.

In the second, he testifies about Jesus before Tiberius and ultimately accepts a martyr's death because of his testimony of faith in Christ. The Gospel stories generally sympathize with Pilate. He tries to save Jesus Christ, but the priests and scribes mock him, and in the end he agrees. However, he proclaims the Lord the King of the Jews in the inscriptions on the Cross and refuses to back down. When Saint Joseph of Arimathea asks for the body of Jesus Christ, Pilate grants his request.

Tertullian calls Pilate as a witness to the death and resurrection of Christ and the truth of Christianity - and explains why he is mentioned in the Nicene Creed. The ancient church historian Eusebius of Caesarea supports this statement, saying that Pilate converted after seeing many miracles that occurred after the death of Jesus Christ, and even reported this to Tiberius.

St. Augustine saw in Pilate the prophet of the Kingdom of God. St. Hippolytus draws a parallel between Pilate and Daniel - since both proclaim themselves freed from the shedding of innocent blood. Other church fathers compared Pilate with the Magi, who also recognized Jesus as the King of the Jews.

What to do with all this? Modern biblical scholars usually reject the patristic justification of Pilate as a pious legend. They can be right. But perhaps the wisdom of the Church fathers and the intuition of popular piety see things on another level. All our actions are mysteriously symbolic and interconnected in ways we cannot yet know, but which will one day manifest.

In many of them, especially in earlier texts from the Eastern Roman Empire, Pilate was portrayed as a positive figure. In some, he became a Christian martyr.

Thus, the Ethiopian Church believes that Pilate became a Christian and accepted a martyr's death from the Romans (according to a denunciation from the Jews) for loyalty to the One whom he ordered to crucify in his time. As a result, according to this tradition, he was not crucified like the Savior, but beheaded like a Roman citizen. The Ethiopian Church canonized him as a saint in the sixth century, because he freed himself from guilt at the crucifixion, and she appointed him and his wife Claudia Procula to commemorate June 25.

So, over the centuries there have been several conflicting reports, but many Eastern churches (such as the Coptic and Ethiopian churches) glorify Pontius Pilate and his wife as saints.

It may seem strange to a Western reader to hear about such worship, but it is a reminder that no one is excluded from the grace of God. Even Mark Pontius Pilate, who sent Jesus Christ to death, could be redeemed and could even become a saint in heaven. With God everything is possible.

But I know from our Ethiopian Christians that the veneration of Pontius Pilate and his wife Claudia is very strong there. Let's face it, after the earthquake and the resurrection, he must have had a lot of guilt for his actions. Well, I guess we'll have to wait until we die to know for sure.

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Martin Skavronsky, dr.hab