Phileas of Thmuis
Phileas of Thmuis († February 4, 306 in Alexandria ) was Bishop of Thmuis in the Nile Delta . He died a martyr in the persecution of Christians under Diocletian .
Life
Eusebius of Caesarea dedicates a section of his church history to Phileas . In addition, the Apologia Phileae ( Papyrus Bodmer XX) and the Acta Phileae have been handed down under his name.
Thereafter, Phileas was baptized as an adult and was elected Bishop of Thmuis for his great service to public life. He had knowledge in many fields, especially philosophy . Imprisoned during the persecution, he wrote a letter to the community describing the steadfastness of the captured, humiliated and tortured Christians (quoted by Eusebius). The Prefect Culcianus, who interrogated him before his execution, was particularly surprised that Phileas chose martyrdom, despite his fortune, with which he could feed almost the entire province. Phileas steadfastly confessed the deity of Christ, refused the imperial sacrifice and rejected an attempt by his brother to mediate. Together with him, Philoromus, a Roman official who had stood up for Phileas in the process, was beheaded.
literature
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Historia ecclesiastica , 325 AD, book 8, chap. 9 and 10 (German by Philipp Haeuser in: Library of the Church Fathers , 2nd row, Volume 1, Munich 1932, chap. 9 , chap. 10 )
Web links
- Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
- Santi Filea e Filoromo (santiebeati.it, Italian)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Phileas of Thmuis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop and martyr |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd century |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 4, 306 |
| Place of death | Alexandria |