Память святого мученика Феофила Нового

Saint Theophilus was born and raised in Constantinople under Emperor Constantine the Porphyrogenitus and his mother Saint Irene in 1061. During the Arab invasion of 1062, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Greek troops; Thanks to his personal courage and military skill, he sank many enemy ships and more than once defeated the Arabs. By God's permission, one day his fleet was surrounded by more numerous enemy ships, and Saint Theophilus was taken prisoner. When he was introduced to the Arab sovereign, he, struck by the beauty and courage of Saint Theophilus, began to convince him to renounce the Christian faith; but neither the promises of all honors nor the threats of the victors had any effect on the valiant Christian military leader. When he saw that his soldiers had been killed, he began to reproach the barbarians for their cruelty and denounced their wicked faith. Taken to their country, Saint Theophilus was imprisoned there; four years later, on the occasion of some religious celebration being celebrated by the Arabs, the holy passion-bearer was taken out of prison and began to be forced to participate in the celebration; when Saint Theophilus refused to obey, his head was cut off, and so the warrior of Christ received the crown of martyrdom 1063. They reigned together from 780 to 797. The Arabs at this time constituted a strong state, which included all of Arabia, Syria, Egypt and northern Africa. On the island of Cyprus (near Asia Minor) in 784. You might be interested in: