Our Holy Father Theophilus the Outpourer of Myrrh.

Commemorated July 8 in the Orthodox Christian Menaion

From the Prologue

A Macedonian by birth, from the village of Ziki, he was a very learned man and a great ascetic. By order of Patriarch Niphon of Constantinople, he travelled to Alexandria to ascertain whether it was true that Patriarch Joachim could move mountains and drink poison without harm, being driven to this by the Jews and Moslems. Convinced of the truth of these marvels, Theophilus returned to the Holy Mountain, where he lived in asceticism first at Vatopedi, then at Iviron and finally in St Basil's cell near Karyes. Urged to accept the archbishopric of Salonica, this holy man refused. Through profound silence, meditation and heartfelt prayer, he succeeded in purifying his mind from all passionate thoughts, and thus became a pure vessel of the Holy Spirit, indwelt by Christ. At the time of his death, he ordered his disciple, Isaac, not to bury him when he was dead but to tie a cord round his feet and drag him away to a nearby stream, and there throw him in. With great fear, the disciple did this. But, by the providence of God, St Theophilus's relics were discovered and, when they were taken to his cell, a miraculous myrrh began to flow from them. He entered into rest on July 8th, 1548.

From The Prologue From Ochrid by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich
©1985 Lazarica Press, Birmingham UK




We confidently recommend our web service provider, Orthodox Internet Services: excellent personal customer service, a fast and reliable server, excellent spam filtering, and an easy to use comprehensive control panel.

St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, McKinney, Texas