Theophilus of Adana

[Byron Jack Gaist]

Dear All,

Has anyone heard of Theophilus of Adana? This is what the Catholic encyclopedia says about him:
Theophilus, the oeconomus of the Church of Adana in Cilicia, who on losing his office bartered his soul to the devil for its recovery, but, having repented, obtained from the Blessed Virgin the miraculous return of the nefarious contract There is also a Wikipedia article on him Theophilus of Adana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophilus_of_Adana). I have never heard of him before, and wonder if he blongs in any way to the legends or history of the Church. His was the story on which Faust is based!

In Christ
Byron

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear All,

Has anyone heard of Theophilus of Adana? This is what the Catholic encyclopedia says about him: There is also a Wikipedia article on him Theophilus of Adana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophilus_of_Adana). I have never heard of him before, and wonder if he blongs in any way to the legends or history of the Church. His was the story on which Faust is based!

In Christ
Byron

From what I can find so far he isn't commemorated on our calendars.

By following the Wiki links it appears he had a western veneration even though his origin is in the east.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Byron Jack Gaist]

Dear Fr Raphael,

Thank you for responding to my query. I wonder why "St Theophilus the Penitent" was not venerated in the East? Is there anything theologically unsound in the 'legend' of the pact with the devil and his later repentance?

I seem to remember a story of an Orthodox monk who through lack of discernment worshipped the devil, who appeared to him in a vision as Christ. Are there however, any stories in the lives of the Orthodox saints relating an actual pact made with the devil which was later repented over?

In Christ
Byron

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Fr Raphael,

Thank you for responding to my query. I wonder why "St Theophilus the Penitent" was not venerated in the East? Is there anything theologically unsound in the 'legend' of the pact with the devil and his later repentance?

I seem to remember a story of an Orthodox monk who through lack of discernment worshipped the devil, who appeared to him in a vision as Christ. Are there however, any stories in the lives of the Orthodox saints relating an actual pact made with the devil which was later repented over?

In Christ
Byron

Yes the account of an actual pact with the devil is something quite different from what we are used to hearing of which is much closer to how the evil one(s) work through the spiritual efforts of those who lack discernment. Often we hear of monks who fell by mistaking false visions or emotional states for the true fruits of prayer. Usually some sort of pride is involved since the person takes these signs as an indication that they have reached an advanced spiritual state.

I had not heard of an actual pact with the devil though before. In the above situations which are very commonly related even nowadays the person either doesn't understand or doesn't accept that the evil one is behind what attracts them. (The recent book about the Elder Haralambos of Dionysiou monastery on Mt Athos relates a very similar account of the Elder warning a monk that he is falling into demonic temptation by mistaking his 'spiritual states' for actual prayer of the heart.)

I'm not sure there's anything overtly unsound in a theological way with the account. Often though in the west after the Schism there is a tendency to use saints' lives to make a particular point so that the saint ends up representing one aspect of the spiritual life. As with many other aspects of western Christian life after the Schism there's something which while not being technically theologically wrong, is still wrong in the way begins to lose track of how the saint represents Christ & not ideas about the spiritual life.

We also draw particular lessons about the life of a saint. But we still have to let the full life of the saint stand on its own since we know that the life of the saint is not so much about providing us with lessons as it is with indicating to us what the transfigured life means.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Byron Jack Gaist]

Dear Fr Raphael,

You wrote:
We also draw particular lessons about the life of a saint. But we still have to let the full life of the saint stand on its own since we know that the life of the saint is not so much about providing us with lessons as it is with indicating to us what the transfigured life means.
I wonder if this is also related to the fact that we Orthodox do not have 'patron saints' for every single activity or event. It always seems so much more real and helpful to read about a three-dimensional person who actually lived and died a Christian life, rather than a thinly-disguised morality tale or an idea presented via a character. Do we have hagiographical rules in how we present saints' lives?

In Christ
Byron

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Fr Raphael,

You wrote: I wonder if this is also related to the fact that we Orthodox do not have 'patron saints' for every single activity or event. It always seems so much more real and helpful to read about a three-dimensional person who actually lived and died a Christian life, rather than a thinly-disguised morality tale or an idea presented via a character. Do we have hagiographical rules in how we present saints' lives?

In Christ
Byron

WE don't have specific rules. But there is a basic pattern which has been followed from the Life of St Anthony, for example, up to this day.

The Life of a saint tries to encompass their whole life and especially how their life is an image of the work of Christ. In more modern times one can see this at work in how the printed lives of St Seraphim of Sarov for example draw on newly available material from Russia after the fall of communism.

In a way many of the holy Elders volumes one can find nowadays are in this category since they show us the previously hidden sanctity of these countries.

In Christ- Fr Raphael