Theophilus of Adana

File:Maastricht Book of Hours, BL Stowe MS17 f255v-f256r.png, ca. 1300-25]]

Theophilus was the archdeacon of Adana, Cilicia, then a part of the Byzantine Empire. He was unanimously elected to be a bishop, and when out of humility he turned the position down, another man was elected in his stead. When the new bishop, based on malicious and unfounded rumors, unjustly deprived Theophilus of his position as archdeacon, Theophilus regretted his previous stance and sought out a necromancer, who helped him contact Satan. In exchange for his aid, Satan demanded that Theophilus renounce Christ and the Virgin Mary in a contract signed with his own blood. Theophilus complied, and the devil gave him the position as bishop.[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00665983.1935.10853649?journalCode=raij20 Fryer, Alfred C., (1935) "Theophilus, The Penitent, as Represented in Art", Archaeological Journal, 92:1, 287-333] {{doi| 10.1080/00665983.1935.10853649}}

Later, fearful for his soul, Theophilus repented and prayed to the Virgin Mary for forgiveness. After forty days of fasting, the Virgin appeared to him and verbally chastised him. Theophilus begged her for forgiveness and she promised to intercede with God on his behalf. He then fasted a further thirty days, after which the Virgin Mary appeared to him again, and granted him absolution. However, Satan was unwilling to relinquish his hold over Theophilus, and three days later,{{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-church-history/article/abs/virgin-and-the-devil-the-role-of-the-virgin-mary-in-the-theophilus-legend-and-its-spanish-and-portuguese-variants/FCB3F940C00676ED77AF902CEFBF3E58#|title=The Virgin and the Devil: the Role of the Virgin Mary in the Theophilus Legend and its Spanish and Portuguese Variants|journal=Studies in Church History|volume=39|year=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/S0424208400015059|access-date=April 23, 2023|pages=147–156 |last1=McCleery |first1=Iona |s2cid=161402260 }} Theophilus awoke to find the damning contract on his chest. He then took the contract to the legitimate bishop and confessed all that he had done. The bishop burned the document, and Theophilus died out of sheer joy to be free from the burden of his contract.

Theophilus's story played a role in establishing the importance of the intercession of the Virgin Mary, in addition to providing a basis for later tales involving the conjuration of devils. In the 10th century, the German canoness Hrotsvitha included the story of Theophilus in her Book of Legends.{{Cite journal|last=Hudson|first=William Henry|date=1888|title=Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim|journal=The English Historical Review|language=en|volume=III|issue=XI|pages=431–457|doi=10.1093/ehr/III.XI.431|issn=0013-8266}}

The Virgin Mary increased in her theological importance throughout the 11th century. The story was used to illustrate the power and necessity of her intercession by Peter Damian, Bernard of Clairvaux, Anthony of Padua, Bonaventure and much later on by Alphonsus Liguori. The story of Theophilus formed the basis of a thirteenth-century miracle play by the trouvère Rutebeuf, Le Miracle de Théophile, one of the earliest pieces of French theatre extant. Over time, the tale acquired a number of variations. In some, Theophilus was motivated by jealousy. In another, the pact was sealed with a ring.[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-church-history/article/virgin-and-the-devil-the-role-of-the-virgin-mary-in-the-theophilus-legend-and-its-spanish-and-portuguese-variants/FCB3F940C00676ED77AF902CEFBF3E58 McCleery, I. (2004). "The Virgin and the Devil: The Role of the Virgin Mary in the Theophilus Legend and its Spanish and Portuguese Variants". Studies in Church History, 39, 147-156] {{doi|10.1017/S0424208400015059}}

The legend of Theophilus first appears in art in the 11th century in an historiated initial, which depicts the Virgin (who is seated between two angels) with Theophilus at her feet.{{cite book|last1=Mâle|first1=Emile|translator1-last=Mathews|translator1-first=Marthiel |title=Religious Art in France: The Thirteenth Century|date=1986|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=261}} The earliest intact narrative cycle is at the abbey church of Sainte-Marie at Souillac, France.{{cite journal|last1=Cothren|first1=M.W.|title=The Iconography of the Theophilus Windows in the First Half of the Thirteenth Century|journal=Speculum|date=1984|volume=59|issue=2|pages=308–341|doi=10.2307/2856394|jstor=2856394| s2cid=54544208 |url=https://works.swarthmore.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=fac-art}} This sculpture depicts four scenes of the legend: the signing of the bond, the oath of loyalty to the devil, Theophilus's repentance, and the return of the bond by the Virgin.

The legend was the most popular in art in the 13th century; it occurred most frequently in illuminated manuscripts{{cite book|last1=Root|first1=Jerry|title=The Theophilus Legend in Medieval Text and Image|date=2017|publisher=D. S. Brewer|location=Cambridge|isbn=9781843844617}} and stained glass. In both illuminated manuscripts and stained glass that depict this legend there are usually four scenes that are shown: the sealing of the bond between Theophilus and the devil, Theophilus repenting, the Virgin recovering the bond, and the Virgin returning the bond to Theophilus. This legend is the only non-biblical Marian story consistently depicted in sculpture and glass in French cathedrals during this time.{{cite book|last1=Mâle|first1=Emile|translator1-last=Mathews|translator1-first=Mathiel |title=Religious Art in France: The Thirteenth Century|date=1984|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=262,266}}{{cite journal|last1=Sangster|first1=Minnie B.|title=Envisioning Le Miracle de Theophile in France: Stained Glass, Sculpture, and Stage|journal=Medieval Perspectives|date=1999|volume=14|pages=191–201}}

Marcel Proust briefly mentions him in Swann's Way as being an important figure of sculpture in France.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• John Yohalem (March, 2005), "[http://www.playbillarts.com/features/article/1455.html Crossing the Line of Forbidden Knowledge]" Retrieved 11 April 2005
• Paul Carus (1900) "[http://www.public-domain-content.com/books/history_devil/ The History of the Devil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715212621/https://www.public-domain-content.com/books/history_devil/ |date=2020-07-15 }}" pp. 415–417 Retrieved 11 April 2005
• Alphonsus Liguori, (1750)"[http://www.fatimacrusader.com/cr13/cr13pg22.asp Mary's Intercession Is Necessary for our Salvation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812153517/http://www.fatimacrusader.com/cr13/cr13pg22.asp |date=2016-08-12 }}" Retrieved 11 April 2005

The [http://www.kb.nl/en National Library of the Netherlands] has a collection of [https://web.archive.org/web/20110811033838/http://www2.kb.nl/vh-cgi/vhoverview.pl?Shelfmark=&Icondescription=&Text=&Iconkeywords=11K42*&Placeoforigin=&Icontext=&Language=&Icontype=&Script=&Iconminiaturist=&Scribe=&iconView=IMAGELIST&Miniaturist=&Binder=&Style=&Formerowner=&Keyword=&afterdate=&beforedate=&equalsdate=&fromheight=&toheight=&fromwidth=&towidth=&searchButton.x=15&searchButton.y=9 images pertaining to Saint Theophilus].

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Category:538 deaths

Category:People from Adana

Category:Byzantine saints

Category:Saints from Anatolia

Category:6th-century Byzantine bishops

Category:6th-century Christian saints

Category:Year of birth unknown

Category:Year of death uncertain

Category:Deal with the Devil

Category:Legendary Romans