Pope Theophilus of Alexandria

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

Theophilus of Alexandria was the 23rd Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. 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. 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."

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:

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".

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.

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