Pope Theophilus of Alexandria

Saint

Theophilus of Alexandria
Saint; Theophilus of Alexandria
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark
	Theophilus atop the Serapeum, depiction from the Alexandrian World Chronicle
Papacy began	384
Papacy ended	15 October 412
Predecessor	Timothy I
Successor	Cyril "Pillar of Faith"
Personal details
Died	15 October 412
Buried	Dominicium, Alexandria
Nationality	Egyptian
Denomination	Church of Alexandria
Residence	Saint Mark's Church
Sainthood
Feast day	18 Paopi (Coptic Calendar); 15 October (Julian Calendar); Currently 28 October (Gregorian Calendar) until 2099
Venerated in	Coptic Orthodox Church

Theophilus was the 23rd Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark. He became pope at a time of conflict between the newly dominant Christians and the pagan establishment in Alexandria, each of which was supported by a segment of the Alexandrian populace.

Background[]

In 391, Theophilus (according to Rufinus and Sozomen) discovered a hidden pagan temple. He and his followers mockingly displayed the pagan artifacts to the public which offended the pagans enough to provoke an attack on the Christians. The Christian faction counter-attacked, forcing the pagans to retreat to the Serapeum. A letter was sent by the emperor that Theophilus should grant the offending pagans pardon, but destroy the temple; according to Socrates Scholasticus, a contemporary of his, the latter aspect (the destruction of the temple) was added as a result of heavy solicitation for it by Theophilus.

Scholasticus goes on to state that:

Seizing this opportunity, Theophilus exerted himself to the utmost ... he caused the Mithraeum to be cleaned out... Then he destroyed the Serapeum... and he had the phalli of Priapus carried through the midst of the forum. ... the heathen temples... were therefore razed to the ground, and the images of their gods molten into pots and other convenient utensils for the use of the Alexandrian church^[1]
— The Ecclesiastical History, in Socrates Scholasticus

The destruction of the Serapeum was seen by many ancient and modern authors as representative of the triumph of Christianity over other religions. According to John of Nikiu in the 7th century, when the philosopher Hypatia was lynched and flayed by an Alexandrian mob, they acclaimed Theophilus's nephew and successor Cyril as "the new Theophilus, for he had destroyed the last remains of idolatry in the city".^[2]

Theophilus turned on the followers of Origen after having supported them for a time. He switched his view of God from the incorporeal view of God held by Origen to the anthropomorphic view held by many local monks who were hostile to his pastoral letter of 399.^[3]

He was accompanied by his nephew Cyril to Constantinople in 403 and there presided at the "Synod of the Oak" that deposed John Chrysostom.

On 10 July in the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Synaxarion, there is a commemoration for the 10,000 monks slain on the orders of Pope Theophilus in his paranoid campaign against perceived Origenism and the Four Tall Brethren. His nephew and dynastic successor Cyril was canonized in both Eastern and Western Christendom, with the notable exception of the Assyrian Church of the East, for his articulation and defense of the hypostatic union, his central role at the First Council of Ephesus, and his opposition to Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople.

Surviving works[]

Correspondence with Jerome, Pope Anastasius I and Pope Innocent I
Tract against Chrysostom
Homily on the Crucifixion and the Good Thief
Homilies translated by Jerome (preserved in Migne)
Other homilies survive only in Coptic and Ge'ez translations.

Theophilus’ Paschal table[]

Theophilus obliged the pious Christian emperor Theodosius I (AD 379-395) to himself by dedicating his Paschal table to him (around AD 390).^[4] Theophilus’ Paschal table did not survive, but what we do know is that the Metonic 19-year lunar cycle underlying it must have been very different from the very first similar lunar cycle which somewhere in the third quarter of the third century was invented by Anatolius but differed very little from the classical Alexandrian 19-year lunar cycle,^[5] which in the fifth century would be introduced by Annianus and adopted by Theophilus’ successor Cyrillus and whose julian equivalent would become the Metonic basic structure of Dionysius Exiguus’ Paschal table.^[6] Bede's Paschal table is an exact extension of Dionysius Exiguus' one.^[7]

In popular culture[]

Theophilus appears in the novel Flow Down Like Silver, Hypatia of Alexandria by Ki Longfellow.

He appears as a character played by Manuel Cauchi in the 2009 film Agora, directed by Alejandro Amenábar.

Legacy[]

The lunar crater Theophilus was named after him, as part of a group of three lunar craters named after prominent Alexandrian Christians.

Pope Theophilus is venerated as a saint only within the Coptic Church of Alexandria; his sainthood is not recognized by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Assyrian Churches.

References[]

^ Socrates Scholasticus, The Ecclesiastical History, 16
^ Chronicle of John of Nikiu
^ J.N.D. Kelly, Golden Mouth, New York, Cornell University Press, pp. 191–193
^ Mosshammer (2008) 190-192
^ Zuidhoek (2017) 92
^ Mosshammer (2008) 202-203
^ Declercq (2000) 157

Literature[]

Georges Declercq (2000) Anno Domini (The Origins of the Christian Era): Turnhout (ISBN 9782503510507)
John N.D. Kelly (1998) Golden Mouth: New York (Cornell University Press)
Alden A. Mosshammer (2008) The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era: Oxford (ISBN 9780199543120)
Norman Russell (2006) Theophilus of Alexandria: London, Routledge (The Early Church Fathers)
Jan Zuidhoek (2017) “The initial year of De ratione paschali and the relevance of its paschal dates”, Studia Traditionis Theologiae 26: 71-93

External links[]

"Theophilos (385–412)". Official web site of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
"Theophilos". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
Christian Classics Ethereal Library: Theophilus
Bede's Library: Theophilus
Order of the Magnificat: St. Cyril
Cyril of Alexandria
Nestorian Theology
John of Nikiu, Chronicle: the lynching of Hypatia
Socrates and Sozumenos Ecclesiastical Histories ch. vii
Five Metonic 19-year lunar cycles

Titles of the Great Christian Church
Preceded by Timothy I	Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria 385–412	Succeeded by Cyril

[1] Socrates Scholasticus, The Ecclesiastical History, 16

[2] Chronicle of John of Nikiu

[3] J.N.D. Kelly, Golden Mouth, New York, Cornell University Press, pp. 191–193

[4] Mosshammer (2008) 190-192

[5] Zuidhoek (2017) 92

[6] Mosshammer (2008) 202-203

[7] Declercq (2000) 157

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show v t Patriarchs of Alexandria
Patriarchs prior to the Chalcedonian schism (43–451)	Mark I the Evangelist (founder) Anianus Avilius Kedronos Primus Justus Eumenius Markianos* Celadion Agrippinus Julian Demetrius I Heraclas Dionysius Maximus Theonas Peter I Achillas Alexander I Athanasius I Peter II Timothy I Theophilus I Cyril I Dioscorus I
Coptic Orthodox Popes and Patriarchs (451–present)	Timothy II Peter III Athanasius II John I John II Dioscorus II Timothy III Theodosius I Peter IV Damian Anastasius Andronicus Benjamin I Agathon John III Isaac Simeon I Alexander II Cosmas I Theodore I Michael I Mina I John IV Mark II James Simeon II Joseph I Michael II Cosmas II Shenouda I Michael III Gabriel I Cosmas III Macarius I Theophilus II (AKA Theophanes) Mina II Abraham Philotheos Zacharias Shenouda II Christodoulos Cyril II Michael IV Macarius II Gabriel II Michael V John V Mark III John VI Cyril III Athanasius III John VII Gabriel III John VII Theodosius III John VIII John IX Benjamin II Peter V Mark IV John X Gabriel IV Matthew I Gabriel V John XI Matthew II Gabriel VI Michael VI John XII John XIII Gabriel VII John XIV Gabriel VIII Mark V John XV Matthew III Mark VI Matthew IV John XVI Peter VI John XVII Mark VII John XVIII Mark VIII Peter VII Cyril IV Demetrius II Cyril V John XIX Macarius III Joseph II Cyril VI Shenouda III Tawadros II (current)
Greek Orthodox Popes and Patriarchs (451–present)	Proterius Timothy II Timothy III John I Peter III Athanasius II John II John III Dioscorus II Timothy IV Theodosius I Gainas Paul Zoilus Apollinarius John IV Eulogius Theodore I John V George I Cyrus Peter IV Peter V Peter VI Cosmas I Politianus Eustatius Christopher I Sophronius I Michael I Michael II Christodoulos Eutychius Sophronius II Isaac Job Elias I Arsenius Theophilus II George II Leontius Alexander II John VI Cyril II Sabbas Sophronius III Elias II Eleutherius Mark III* Nicholas I Gregory I Nicholas II Athanasius III Gregory II Gregory III Niphon Mark IV Nicholas III Gregory IV Nicholas IV Athanasius IV Mark V Philotheus Mark VI Gregory V Joachim I Silvester Meletius I Pegas Cyril III Gerasimus I Metrophanes Nicephorus Joannicius Paisius Parthenius I Gerasimus II Samuel Cosmas II Cosmas III Matthew Cyprian Gerasimus III Parthenius II Theophilus III Hierotheus I Artemius Hierotheus II Callinicus Jacob Nicanor Sophronius IV Photius Meletius II Nicholas V Christopher II Nicholas VI Parthenius III Peter VII Theodore II (current)
Latin Catholic (1276 –1954)	Atanasio (Athanasius) Egidio da Ferrara (Giles) ?Humbert II, Dauphin of Vienne Juan (John) Guillaume de Chanac () uncanonical Pietro Amely di Brunac ? uncanonical Simon of Cramaud Pietro Amely di Brunac Leonardo Dolfin Ugo Roberti Pietro Amaury di Lordat Lancelotus de Navarra Giovanni Contarini Pietro Vitalis di Mauléon Giovanni Vitelleschi Marco Condulmer Jean d’Harcourt Arnaldo Rogerii de Palas Pedro de Urrea Pedro González de Mendoza Diego Hurtado de Mendoza Alonso de Fonseca y Acevedo Bernardino Carafa Cesare Riario Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora Ottaviano Maria Sforza Julius Gonzaga Cristoforo Guidalotti Ciocchi del Monte Jacques Cortès Tommaso Alessandro Riario Enrico Caetani Giovanni Battista Albani Camillo Caetani Alessandro di Sangro Honoratus Caetani Federico Borromeo Allesandro Crescenzi Aloysius Bevilacqua Petrus Draghi Bartoli Gregorio Giuseppe Gaetani de Aragonia Carlo Ambrosio Mezzabarba Filippo Carlo Spada Girolamo Crispi Giuseppe Antonio Davanzati Lodovico Agnello Anastasi Francisco Mattei Paolo Angelo Ballerini
Melkite Catholic (1724–present)	Cyril VI Tanas Athanasius IV Jawhar Maximos II Hakim Theodosius V Dahan Athanasius IV Jawhar Cyril VII Siaj Agapius II Matar Ignatius IV Sarrouf Athanasius V Matar Macarius IV Tawil Ignatius V Qattan Maximos III Mazloum Clement Bahouth Gregory II Youssef-Sayur Peter IV Geraigiry Cyril VIII Geha Demetrius I Qadi Cyril IX Moghabghab Maximos IV Sayegh Maximos V Hakim Gregory III Laham Youssef I Absi
Coptic Catholic (1824–present)	Kyrillos Makarios Stéphanos I Sidarouss Stéphanos II Ghattas Antonios I Naguib Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak
*Markianos is considered Mark II on the Greek side of the subsequent schism, hence this numbering of Mark III. Category Commons

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