Abba Silvanus (died before 414) was a Palestinian Christian monk who lived during the 4th and 5th centuries.
He led a community of 12 disciples in Scetis, Egypt, among them Zacharias, Mark the Calligrapher, Netras (later bishop of Paran) and Zeno.
[2] According to his hagiography, he was blessed with the gift of prophecy, guessing the questions of his disciples and knowing their sins before they confessed them.
[2] Later (around 390) Silvanus and his disciples moved to Gaza where they settled along the Gerar river.
[5] Here, they followed the model of the eremitic monasteries of Scetis and build several hermit cells along the watercourse with a church and domestic building that served the needs of the community, similar to the lauras of the Judean Desert.