Silas

Silas, also called Silvanus, was a prophet in the Jerusalem church chosen by the apostles to carry the decision of the Jerusalem Council to Antioch. He is described as "a leading man among the brothers." After Barnabas and Paul separated over John Mark, Paul chose Silas as his companion for the second missionary journey, traveling through Syria and Cilicia before entering Macedonia.

In Philippi, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison for casting a spirit of divination from a slave girl. At midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God — the other prisoners listening — when an earthquake shook the foundations, opened the doors, and loosed every chain. The jailer, presuming his prisoners had escaped, was about to kill himself when Paul called out to stop him. The jailer brought them out and asked, "What must I do to be saved?" He and his household believed and were baptized that same night. Silas continued with Paul through Thessalonica, Berea, and into Achaia. He co-authored both letters to the Thessalonians alongside Paul and Timothy. The New Testament also refers to him as the carrier and likely scribe of 1 Peter.