The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313
Phileas of Thmuis
d. c. 306 · Bishop of Thmuis · Martyr · Thmuis, Egypt
The Ante-Nicene Church
Who Phileas of Thmuis was
A wealthy and learned bishop of Thmuis in the Egyptian delta, martyred under Maximinus Daza. From prison he wrote to his flock a letter, quoted by Eusebius, describing with a lawyer’s precision the tortures inflicted on the Alexandrian Christians and exhorting them to endurance. His own trial transcript survives (a Chester Beatty papyrus preserves part of it), showing the judge Culcianus pressing him again and again to spare himself, and the bishop refusing. A rare martyr whose own courtroom words are preserved on contemporary papyrus.
Also listed in martyrs, bishops beyond the great sees and the great persecution.
Common questions
When did Phileas die?
Phileas of Thmuis is dated d. c. 306 in the archive, which places Phileas in the Ante-Nicene Church (AD 180–313). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did Phileas write?
Phileas of Thmuis has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Letter to the Church of Thmuis (on the martyrs).
Which early sources mention Phileas?
Phileas of Thmuis is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The Alexandrian court record, Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome of Stridon. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Phileas from?
The archive associates Phileas of Thmuis with Thmuis, Egypt. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
Letter to the Church of Thmuis (on the martyrs)
c. 305All the martyrs… fixing their eyes upon the grace of Christ, despised the world’s tortures, purchasing eternal life at the cost of a single hour.Read the interlinear source text →
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Acts of Phileas (the court record, P. Chester Beatty XV)
c. AD 306Ecclesiastical History VIII.9–10
c. AD 325Phileas, bishop of the church of Thmuis, a man distinguished for his services rendered to his country, and for his skill in philosophy… wrote from prison an epistle to the Thmuitans describing the sufferings of the martyrs.Eusebius of Caesarea · VIII.9–10 · source text
On Illustrious Men 78
c. AD 392Phileas, of the city of Egypt called Thmuis, composed, in prison, a most elegant book in praise of martyrs.Jerome of Stridon · On Illustrious Men 78 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Phileas, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.