Theophilos the Indian, also known as Theophilus Indus[1] (
Greek: Θεόφιλος) (died 364), also called "the Ethiopian", was an
Aetian or Heteroousian[2] bishop who fell alternately in and out of favor with the court of the
Roman emperor
Constantius II.[3] He is mentioned in the encyclopedia Suda.[4]
He came from an island in the Indian Ocean, which has been identified as
Socotra,[5] the island Divus which could be the
Maldive Islands,[6] or an island at the mouth of the Indus.[7] Theophilos came to the court of
Constantine I as a young man and was ordained a
deacon under the Arian bishop
Eusebius of Nicomedia. He was later exiled because Constantius believed him to be a supporter of Constantius' rebellious cousin
Gallus. Famed for his ability as a healer, Theophilus was later recalled to court to heal Constantius' wife, the empress
Eusebia, which he is reputed to have done successfully.[8] He was exiled again for his support of the disfavored theologian
Aëtius whose
Anomoean doctrine was an offshoot of
Arianism.[9]
Theophilus was ordained a bishop [10] and around 354 AD, Emperor Constantius II sent Theophilus on a mission to south Asia via Arabia, where he is said to have converted the
Himyarites and built three churches in southwest Arabia. He is also said to have found Christians in India.[11]
In about 356, the Emperor
Constantius II wrote to
Ezana of the
Kingdom of Aksum requesting him to replace the then Bishop of Aksum
Frumentius with Theophilos, who supported the Arian position, as did the Emperor. This request was ultimately turned down.
On his return to the empire he settled at Antioch.[12]
One of the churches which Theophilus had founded in Arabia during the 4th century was built at
Zafar, Yemen and likely destroyed in 523 by the King of Himyar
Dhu Nuwas, who had shifted the state religion from Christianity to Judaism. Later in 525, Theophilus' church was restored by the Christian King
Kaleb of Axum following his successful invasion on Himyar.[13]
^Strauch, Ingo, "Foreign Sailors on Socotra," Hempen Verlag, 2012.
^Philostorgius in his Ecclesiastical history (
book III, chapter 4) tells that Theophilos was born in the "island of Divus", which is supposed to be the Maldive Islands or maybe Ceylon
^Philostorgius in his Ecclesiastical history (
book III, chapter 4, Footnote 43 p.444 n.1) writes this island is said to lie in the Indian Ocean, near the mouth of the Indus, and to have been known also under the name of Diva, Divu, and Devu.
^Alexander Kazhdan, Leslie S. B. MacCoull. "
Theophilos the Indian." The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Ed. Alexander P. Kazhdan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Retrieved 13 December 2007
^Woods, D., "Three Notes on Aspects of the Arian Controversy, c.354 – 367 CE", Journal of Theological Studies, New Series, Vol. 44, No. 2 (October 1993), pp. 604–619
^Tsai, Kathryn (Dr). A Timeline of Eastern Church History. Divine Ascent Press, CA, 2004.
ISBN0-9714139-2-4
^Woods, D., "Three Notes on Aspects of the Arian Controversy, c.354 – 367 CE" in Journal of Theological Studies, New Series, Vol. 44, No. 2 (October 1993), pp. 604–619
^Bowersock, G.W (Dr). The Throne of Adulis: Red Sea Wars on the Eve of Islam. Oxford University Press, 2013.
ISBN978-0-19-973932-5
Further reading
Andrade, Nathanael J. (2018). The Journey of Christianity to India in Late Antiquity: Networks and the Movement of Culture. Cambridge University Press.