{"id":22740,"date":"2025-01-06T15:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=22740"},"modified":"2025-01-07T08:13:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T16:13:00","slug":"new-years-eve-celebrates-st-silvester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/new-years-eve-celebrates-st-silvester\/","title":{"rendered":"New Year\u2019s Eve celebrates St. Silvester \u2013 the 4th-century pope whose legend shaped ideas of church and state"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/01\/Concannon-St-Sylvester-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/01\/Concannon-St-Sylvester-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/01\/Concannon-St-Sylvester-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/01\/Concannon-St-Sylvester-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  role=\"none\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A mosaic of St. Silvester baptizing Emperor Constantine, from the Basilica Santi Quattro Coronati in Rome. (Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:00_Stirnwand_6.jpg\">Peter1936F\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>New Year\u2019s Eve celebrates St. Silvester \u2013 the 4th-century pope whose legend shaped ideas of church and state<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Historians may not know much about Silvester\u2019s life, but the era he lived in was pivotal for Christianity.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Cavan W. Concannon<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">January 6, 2025<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>On Dec. 31, while many people are preparing for their New Year\u2019s Eve parties, some Roman Catholic Christians will also mark <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/en\/saints\/12\/31\/st--sylvester-i--pope.html\">the feast day for St. Silvester<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Little is known for certain about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.academia.edu\/43555504\">Silvester\u2019s life<\/a>, but he lived during a transformational period in the history of Christianity. From 314-335 C.E., Silvester was <strong>the<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/rome-and-the-invention-of-the-papacy\/D80D37A3827FD1F7BDF3F0EA489FE31F\">bishop of Rome<\/a>: what we now call the pope, although the role was not so powerful at the time. \u201cPope\u201d comes from the Greek word for \u201cfather,\u201d and was widely used by bishops until the fifth century, when the bishop of Rome began to monopolize the title.<\/p>\n<p>Silvester\u2019s era was one of both turmoil and transition for Christians living in the Roman Empire, as some Christian communities emerged from persecution into a powerful alliance with the Roman state. His story is deeply intertwined with this alliance, which would fundamentally change the trajectory of the movement initiated by the figure of Jesus of Nazareth three centuries earlier. Christianity would now become the faith of kings, states and empires.<\/p>\n<h2>A change in fortune<\/h2>\n<p>Trustworthy details of Silvester\u2019s life are hard to come by. The \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ia801907.us.archive.org\/8\/items\/LiberPontificalis\/Liber%20pontificalis.pdf\">Liber Pontificalis<\/a>,\u201d a catalog of papal biographies that began to be compiled in the sixth century, tells us that he was from Rome and the son of an otherwise unknown man named Rufinus.<\/p>\n<p>As a young man, Silvester lived through the persecutions initiated under one of the co-emperors at the time, Diocletian, which began in 303 C.E. These persecutions continued for several years after Diocletian stepped down.<\/p>\n<p>Though many people picture early Christians being <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-the-gladiators-inspired-evangelicals-sense-of-persecution-243332\">constantly persecuted<\/a> by the Roman state, historians <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/products\/the-myth-of-persecution-candida-moss?variant=32206054129698\">doubt these claims<\/a>. The persecutions that began under Diocletian, however, are an exception. During this period, the state expected Christians to sacrifice to the gods for the well-being of the empire, or face consequences \u2014 sometimes violent ones.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 300px;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/639943\/original\/file-20241220-17-721t98.jpeg\" alt=\"A mural of a man with a crown sitting on a throne while he exchanges an intense look with a man in a red robe with a halo around his head.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2813\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural from the Ubisi Monastery in Georgia depicts Diocletian with St. George before his martyrdom. (Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:St._George_before_Diocletianus_(Ubisi_mural).JPG\">Titus Project via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/st-augustine-was-no-stranger-to-culture-wars-and-has-something-to-say-about-todays-242372\">Christian theologian Augustine<\/a>, some Christians later accused Silvester of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.augustinus.it\/latino\/unicita_battesimo\/unicita_battesimo.htm\">having \u201cbetrayed\u201d his faith<\/a> during this period. Silvester was accused of turning over Christian sacred books to the Roman authorities and making offerings to the Roman gods.<\/p>\n<p>The persecution came to an end in 313, when the co-emperors Constantine and Licinius signed <a href=\"https:\/\/origin-rh.web.fordham.edu\/halsall\/source\/edict-milan.asp\">the Edict of Milan<\/a>, which granted tolerance to Christianity in the empire. Just a year later, Silvester became the bishop of Rome.<\/p>\n<p>Constantine quickly became a major patron of Christians, though the extent to which he practiced Christianity <a href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Constantine-Religious-Faith-and-Imperial-Policy\/Siecienski\/p\/book\/9780367880446?srsltid=AfmBOopIdRHmWbmsVLoOVXMm_XRIF5o2DlxuIW_BPzI3nP-Bl2YtY9-Y\">is debated<\/a>. With imperial support came a massive Christian building campaign in Rome \u2014 so much so that most of <a href=\"https:\/\/ia801907.us.archive.org\/8\/items\/LiberPontificalis\/Liber%20pontificalis.pdf\">Silvester\u2019s biography in the \u201cLiber Pontificalis<\/a>\u201d consists of lists of all the churches that Constantine gifted to the city.<\/p>\n<h2>Christian controversies<\/h2>\n<p>Both before and during Silvester\u2019s time as the bishop of Rome, there were many <a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/lost-christianities-9780195182491?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;\">different Christianities<\/a> in the empire. This diversity was troubling to Constantine, who wanted to promote unity and order in his domain. As such, he began to convene councils of Christian clergy to sort out contentious issues.<\/p>\n<p>In 314, the year that Silvester became bishop, the emperor called the Council of Arles to address a dispute that had arisen among African bishops \u2014 what has become known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/what-lessons-can-the-clergy-sex-abuse-crisis-draw-from-a-4th-century-church-schism-112351\">Donatist Controversy<\/a>. At issue was whether a priest who had betrayed his faith during the persecutions retained a valid ordination.<\/p>\n<p>Silvester, though the bishop of an important city, did not attend, but sent representatives in his stead. It may be that, even at this early date, there were already rumors about what Silvester might have done during the persecutions.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 300px;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/639940\/original\/file-20241220-15-ydold.png\" alt=\"A jewel-toned religious painting of men with halos seated around a kingly figured in red robes, and one man in plainer clothes lying at the bottom.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An icon from the M\u00e9galo Met\u00e9oron Monastery in Greece shows the Council of Nicea, with Arius at the bottom. (Photo: <a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Nikea-arius.png\">Jjensen\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, <a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Around 10 years later, shortly after Constantine had <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.mcah.columbia.edu\/medieval-architecture\/htm\/kd\/ma_kd_gloss_constant1.htm\">become the sole ruler<\/a> of the Roman world, he called another council in Nicaea, in modern-day Turkey. This time, he wanted Christian leaders to address an emerging rift centered on the ministry of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Arius\">a charismatic cleric named Arius<\/a>. Silvester did not attend this council either, but again sent representatives.<\/p>\n<p>The council eventually adopted what has been called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usccb.org\/beliefs-and-teachings\/what-we-believe\">the Nicene Creed<\/a>, a statement of faith that remains important for many modern Christians. However, the council did not resolve the split around Arius. In fact, Constantine would later <a href=\"https:\/\/topostext.org\/work\/530\">be baptized<\/a> by a supporter of Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia.<\/p>\n<p>These decades when Silvester presided over the church <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldhistory.org\/article\/1737\/constantines-conversion-to-christianity\/\">transformed Christianity<\/a> from a persecuted group into allies of the state. This alliance made theological differences between Christians even more fraught, since the force of the empire might now be wielded against one\u2019s foes.<\/p>\n<h2>Rewriting history<\/h2>\n<p>But why, given these huge shifts, was Silvester not seen as a major player in the politics of his day?<\/p>\n<p>This was a question that dogged later Christians \u2014 in fact, they invented stories about Silvester that put him right in the center of the action.<\/p>\n<p>In the fifth century, an anonymous author wrote a biography now known as the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/portal.sds.ox.ac.uk\/articles\/online_resource\/E03229_The_Acts_of_Sylvester_bishop_of_Rome_00397_are_written_in_Latin_in_a_number_of_versions_the_earliest_by_the_5th_c_They_narrate_episodes_of_the_life_of_Sylvester_in_particular_highlighting_his_role_in_the_conversion_and_baptism_of_the\/13832693\">Acts of Silvester<\/a>,\u201d which made Silvester seem central to Constantine\u2019s conversion to Christianity.<\/p>\n<p>In the Acts, Constantine starts as a persecutor of Christians, for which God curses him with leprosy. Silvester, who had been in exile on a mountain near Rome amid the persecutions, is recalled to the city after Saints Peter and Paul visit Constantine in a dream. Silvester hears Constantine\u2019s confession of faith, cures him miraculously of his leprosy, and then baptizes the emperor.<\/p>\n<p>Just like that, Constantine now had a proper baptism from an orthodox bishop, not an Arian heretic.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/639934\/original\/file-20241220-17-3bhmi7.jpg\" alt=\"A slightly cracked painting of a man in clerical robes pouring water over a kneeling, half-naked man on the floor as others gather around.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1437\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A detail from \u2018Baptism of Constantine,\u2019 by Giovan Francesco Penni. (Photo: <a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Detail_from_Baptism_of_Constantine.jpg\">Vatican Museums via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A century later, the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ia801907.us.archive.org\/8\/items\/LiberPontificalis\/Liber%20pontificalis.pdf\">Liber Pontificalis<\/a>\u201d would claim that it was Silvester, not Constantine, who called the Councils of Arles and Nicaea. The text also credited him with a series of legal rulings. These changes to Silvester\u2019s story elevated him to a major player in the events of his day. They also supported a growing effort to invest the bishop of Rome with <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/9781108872584\">the kind of authority<\/a> that modern popes hold.<\/p>\n<h2>Donations and dragons<\/h2>\n<p>Legends about Silvester only grew with time \u2014 and even include a battle with <a href=\"https:\/\/philamuseum.org\/collection\/object\/102732\">a demonic dragon<\/a>. But perhaps the most infamous legacy of Silvester is connected to the so-called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hup.harvard.edu\/books\/9780674030893\">Donation of Constantine<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This forged document was first drafted in the eighth century C.E. The Donation states that Emperor Constantine had bequeathed to the Roman bishop \u2014 at the time Silvester \u2014 control of the city of Rome, the western Roman Empire, huge tracts of land under imperial control, and authority over churches in the other centers of the Christian world, Constantinople.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/rome-and-the-invention-of-the-papacy\/D80D37A3827FD1F7BDF3F0EA489FE31F\">For centuries<\/a>, this document would undergird papal claims to both ecclesial and civil power. In the 15th century, German cardinal <a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/cusanus\/\">Nicholas of Cusa<\/a> and the Italian scholar <a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/lorenzo-valla\/\">Lorenzo Valla<\/a> showed the Donation to be a forgery, but by that point popes had already amassed the authority and wealth now associated with the office.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 1920px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/639938\/original\/file-20241220-14-pulaev.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a halo on a king-like thrown receives a triangular package from a man in red robes who kneels before him.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1367\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mosaic depicting the \u2018Donation of Constantine\u2019 in Rome\u2019s Basilica Santi Quattro Coronati. (Photo: <a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:00_Stirnwand_7.jpg\">Peter1936F\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, <a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Though the precise details of Silvester\u2019s life will likely remain a mystery, the times he lived in were pivotal for the history of Christianity and the West. While he was bishop, Christianity took its first steps toward a longstanding alliance with imperial and state power. Over time, Silvester\u2019s story was embellished to not only justify this alliance, but to argue that the church should have political power.<\/p>\n<p>Today a powerful block of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com\/products\/the-kingdom-the-power-and-the-glory-tim-alberta?variant=41467781021730\">Christian nationalists<\/a> in the United States <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/book\/10399\">seeks similar power<\/a>. For some, inspiration for this political project is based on the idea of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commonwealmagazine.org\/not-catholic-enough\">natural<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/all-the-kingdoms-of-the-world-9780197611371?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;\">alliance between church and state<\/a> \u2014 starting with Constantine, but justified by traditions invented around the life of Silvester. Yet this alliance was an accident of history, not foreordained. Over time Christians in the Roman Empire invented reasons for why the church should align with the state \u2014 and, eventually, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Theodosius-I\">become the state<\/a>.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/245925\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/cavan-w-concannon-429254\">Cavan W. Concannon<\/a>, John R. Tansey Chair in Christian Ethics and Professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/religion\/\">Religion<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/clas\/\">Classics<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/new-years-eve-celebrates-st-silvester-the-4th-century-pope-whose-legend-shaped-ideas-of-church-and-state-245925\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/a-feast-of-knowledge\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >A Feast of Knowledge<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field 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Christianity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":22742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[87,103,83],"class_list":["post-22740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-holidays","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New Year\u2019s Eve celebrates St. Silvester \u2013 the 4th-century pope whose legend shaped ideas of church and state<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Historians may not know much about Silvester\u2019s life, but the era in which he lived was pivotal for Christianity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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