Pope Theophilus of Alexandria

Theophilus of Alexandria (died 412) was Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, from 385 to 412. He is regarded as a saint by the Coptic Orthodox Church.

He was a Coptic Pope at a time of conflict between the newly dominant Christians and the pagan establishment in Alexandria, each supported by a segment of the Alexandrian populace. Edward Gibbon described him as "...the perpetual enemy of peace and virtue, a bold, bad man, whose hands were alternately polluted with gold and with blood."[1]

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 (That at the time may have housed part of the Great Library of Alexandria). 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[2] ”

—Socrates Scholasticus, The Ecclesiastical History

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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 a mob of Alexandrian Coptic monks, they acclaimed Theophilus's nephew and successor Cyril as "the new Theophilus, for he had destroyed the last remains of idolatry in the city".[3]

Theophilus turned on the followers of Origen after having supported them for a time. 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 July 10th 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. While considered a saint by the Coptic Orthodox Church, he is remembered in the Eastern Orthodox churches as "impious".[4] His nephew and successor Cyril is recognized as a saint throughout all of Christendom.

Contents

Surviving works

In Popular Culture

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

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, New York: The Modern Library, n.d., v. 2, p. 57 et seq.
  2. ^ Socrates Scholasticus, The Ecclesiastical History, 16
  3. ^ Chronicle of John of Nikiu
  4. ^ http://oca.org/FSLivesAllSaints.asp?SID=4&M=7&D=10 "These holy martyrs of Christ, who lived in the deserts and caves of the Nitrian desert, were delivered up by Patriarch Theophilus of Antioch to face a bitter death. He falsely accused them of Origenism, but in fact they incurred the patriarch's anger by giving shelter to the priest Isidore."

Further reading

External links

Preceded by
Timothy I		 Pope of Alexandria
385–412		 Succeeded by
Cyril I