The answer
He is the Roman governor and procurator33 of Judaea in Palestine. Pontius (Pontus, his home region, in Asia Minor) Pilate (his name) was the fifth prefect, and remained in this position from A.D. 26 to A.D. 36. During that time, he was delegated by Caesar to manage the affairs of the province.34
We know nothing of his upbringing or the end of his life, other than it was said that he committed suicide in his exile in Vienne, Gaul, after the year A.D. 36.35 There remains a monument, 52 feet in height, which indicates his burial location.
His fame goes back to his being the governor in whose time the Crucifixion of Christ took place, after having given in to the accusations of the Jews, concerning more for himself, and out of fear for his position (Mark 15:15).
The Jewish historian Josephus wrote concerning Pilate, “And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned Him (Jesus) to the Cross, those that loved Him at first did not forsake Him.”36
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II
Notes
33 Translator’s note: “procurator, n.: A person who is employed to manage the affairs of another or is authorized to act on behalf of another. A provincial ruler or governor; (Roman Hist.)...the head of a minor part of a province, esp. Judaea (which was part of the province of Syria)” (OED Online. September 2013. Oxford University Press. 16 October 2013.).
34 Translator’s note: Cf. “Pilate, Pontius.” A Dictionary of the Bible, Second Ed. W. R. F. Browning, ed. Oxford University Press: 2009.
35 Translator’s note: Cf. Eusebius Pamphilius, Ecclesiastical History 2.7.
36 Translator’s note: In The Antiquities of the Jews 18.64 (William Whiston, trans. The Genuine Works of Flavius Josephus, the Jewish Historian. London, 1737.).
Pope Tawadros II, My Faith: A Series of Dialogues on the Creed (Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, 2014), 92–93.
The pages in the book (92–93)
