Theophilus the New Whom We Commemorate on January 30

 

 Theophilus the Confessor was born and raised in the queen of cities and capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. His parents were pious and dedicated Christians, and they tried to give him a Christian upbringing and education since his boyhood. As their guide they had the words of the Apostle: "And ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath: But bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4) The result of their efforts was great. Theophilus was reared with the words of Christ and with the example of his parents. Thus he was set aside from the other children since his childhood. This happens often. The example of the parents plays an important role in the upbringing of the children.

 At that time, the temptations and snares of the evil one were many. But with the aid of prayer and vigilance, the boy increased in time, and at an unusually early age he was elected to serve in the Senate and became one of its most respected members. This happened in the days of Constantine and Irene the pious Emperors who at the time ruled Byzantium. The great Empire was divided administratively in separate states which were called Themes. One such state was the Theme of Cibyrraeotes from the Carian city of Cibyrra. The people of that theme were famous seamen under the command of the Byzantium emperors. For this reason the supervision and protection of the Mediterranean Sea and especially the sea lane between Cilicia and Cyprus was in their hands. The Arab-Saracens wreaked havoc over those areas at the time. The position of commander in chief was accorded to Theophilus, for his excellent seamanship and patriotism.

 In the year 800 A.D. according to the chronographer St. Theophanes, who was the Abbot of the Monastery of Great Agros, Empress Irene had assigned Theophilus to monitor the movements of the Arab fleet which had become the evil demon of Cyprus. Theophilus had two other generals under his command who were to assist him, and they had given their word that they would remain loyal to him. They said they were prepared to die for him. How often do people make promises and how often do they keep them?

 When the Byzantine armada, with Theophilus at the head, arrived in Myra of Lycia, all the generals bypassed the Cape of Swallows and sailed toward the Gulf of Attaleia. Meanwhile the Arabs took advantage of the good weather and sailed from Cyprus as they crossed the sound that separates Cyprus from Asia Minor. When the Byzantine sentinels spotted them as they were sailing undisturbed, they seized the opportunity and maneuvered in formation so as to engage them in battle. The commander of the Cibyrraeotes Theophilus being a stalwart and an excellent strategist sailed ahead of the other ships and confronted the enemy with all his might. This assault was very successful in the beginning. The Arabs were stunned as they were outmaneuvered and surprised and were ready to surrender. But when the generals of Theophilus saw his heroism with the Arabs in retreat, they envied his overwhelming success and abandoned him as they left the scene of battle.

 Theophilus continued to struggle alone with his men who were on his ship. However, the ships of the Saracens were more numerous and he was surrounded by them, and at the end was taken prisoner.

 A terrible vice is jealousy! "Envy supersedes the interests of him who bears it," says St. Basil. The valiant Theophilus was captured and his hands were tied behind his back and he was taken to the leader of the Saracens, the infamous Caliph of Baghdad, Aroun Al Rashid. The evil Caliph was amazed at the appearance of the athletic Theophilus and was captured by his personality. Immediately, he reckoned that if he were able to convince the invincible champion to follow him he would achieve a double victory. With feigned courtesy he began to make offers to Theophilus and promised him many rewards. To all these offers the faithful Christian answered with a resounding no.

 To the demands that he abandon Christianity and accept Mohammedanism, he did not only refuse to do so but spat in the faces of Rashid's men saying: "The religion of the Christians is the revelation of God through Jesus Christ and by which every Christian does not only achieve happiness but also eternal salvation." At the insistence of Aroun Al Rashid that Mohammedanism is the religion of God revealed to the world through his prophet Mohammed, Theophilus did not hesitate to mock the perverse faith and to berate those who held him and taunted him.

 For his rejection, the confessor paid with a barrage of jeers and abuses and a confinement period of four years in a gloomy and verminous jail. During that long period, in spite of the continuous torments of his captors, the unbending confessor remained solid and intrepid. In his sight he had the very words of our lord: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear him that is able to destroy both body and soul in Hell" (Mathew 10 :28). Also the words of the great Apostle: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18). That is, do not fear those that kill the body for they cannot kill the soul. With these words as a guide and his deep faith he passed the days in jail, bearing in mind the infinite love of Christ who said: "My son I shall not abandon you ever, nor shall I forsake you. Only stand by me in faith and faithful till death." Thus Theophilus goes through his days in the bleak dungeon of the barbarous Saracens.

 A martyr's life of four years Theophilus passed in jail as the unwavering Christian that he was. One day when the barbarians had their Bairam they brought Theophilus to their celebration and began to coax him one by one to deny the Faith and espouse their own and celebrate with them. To all these notions the Martyr gave one answer: "I was born a Christian, I was raised a Christian and I shall die a Christian."

 To his reply he sustained numerous kicks and blows by the unruly assembly. At one point one of the leaders of the Arabs began to scorn and blaspheme the name of Christ. Theophilus responded with the same words against their religion and beliefs. His daring response resulted in his demise for they led him to the middle of the celebrating crowd and there he received his death by the sword; thus ended the life of the indomitable Christian. And this was recorded by St. Theophanes: "A punishment by the sword suffered he, and was proven to be an excellent martyr."

 The relic of the confessor and Newmartyr Theophilus was taken up by the Christians who dwelt there and they conducted a solemn funeral and buried it. The memory of the unrelenting Christian is honored in the Eastern Church on the 30th of January and in the Western Church on July 22nd. For the love of our mother, the Byzantine Empire towards Cyprus, Theophilus marched off to war "for reasons known only to God." The sea-battle had the worst results, but with one denial of the Faith, Theophilus could have saved his life. However, the great struggler preferred to fulfill the words of the divine teacher that were recorded by the author of the Apocalypse: "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you the laurel of life" (Apocalypse 2:10). And he remained faithful unto death. Saint Theophilus intercede for us.