The Ante-Nicene Church · AD 180–313

Theophilus of Antioch

c. 120 – c. 184 · Bishop of Antioch · First to write “Trinity” · Antioch, Syria

The Ante-Nicene Church

Theophilus of Antioch — historical depiction 1 — Theophilus of AntiochWilliam Cave · Public domain · Commons

Theophilus of Antioch — historical depiction 2 — Theophilus of AntiochMarie-Lan Nguyen (2011) · CC BY 2.5 · Commons

Theophilus of Antioch — historical depiction 3 — Theophilus of AntiochThis file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art . See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy · CC0 · Commons

Theophilus of Antioch — historical depiction 4 — Theophilus of AntiochYale University Art Gallery · Public domain · Commons

Theophilus of Antioch — historical depiction 5 — Theophilus of AntiochUnknown author Unknown author · Public domain · Commons

Who Theophilus of Antioch was

Theophilus, sixth bishop of Antioch in the line from Ignatius, was born near the Euphrates and converted in adulthood by reading the prophets — a debt his writing never forgets. His three books To Autolycus, composed for a skeptical pagan friend after 180, move from the knowledge of God through a commentary on Genesis to a defense of Christian morals, and along the way leave two firsts in the record: the earliest surviving use of the word Trias — Trinity — for God, his Word, and his Wisdom, and the earliest explicit citation of the Gospel of John by name. Brusque, learned, occasionally funny, he is the voice of Syrian Christianity finding its systematic footing.

Also listed in the bishops of Antioch.

Common questions

When did Theophilus live?

Theophilus of Antioch is dated c. 120 – c. 184 in the archive, which places Theophilus 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 Theophilus write?

Theophilus of Antioch has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: To Autolycus.

Which early sources mention Theophilus?

Theophilus of Antioch is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Eusebius of Caesarea and Jerome. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Theophilus from?

The archive associates Theophilus of Antioch with Antioch, Syria. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Writings (1)

To Autolycus

c. 180–184

But if you say, “Show me thy God,” I would reply, “Show me yourself, and I will show you my God.” Show, then, that the eyes of your soul are capable of seeing… For as the soul in man is not seen, being invisible, but is perceived through the motion of the body, so God cannot indeed be seen by human eyes.

Earliest witness · Venice, Marcianus gr. 496 (11th c.)

Read the interlinear source text →

Primary-source mentions (2)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Ecclesiastical History IV.24 (sixth bishop of Antioch; the book against Marcion)

c. AD 325

Of Theophilus, three elementary works addressed to Autolycus are extant; also another writing against the heresy of Marcion.

Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History IV.24 · source text

On Illustrious Men 25

c. AD 393

Theophilus, sixth bishop of the church of Antioch, in the reign of the emperor Marcus Antoninus Verus composed a book Against Marcion, which is still extant, also three volumes To Autolycus.

Jerome · 25 · source text