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- Died:
- April 180, Antioch, modern Antakya, Turkey
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Theophilus of Antioch
Syrian saint
Theophilus of Antioch (born, near Tigris and Euphrates rivers, modern Iraq—died April 180, Antioch, modern Antakya, Turkey) was a Syrian saint, the sixth bishop of Antioch, and one of the Christian Apologists of the 2nd century.
Educated in the Greek tradition, Theophilus became a Christian as an adult, after extended deliberation, and by 170 was elected bishop of Antioch. His sole surviving work consists of three apologetic tracts To Autolycus, a pagan friend whose derision of the Christian faith prompted the defense.
A prolific publicist, his multifaceted literary activity, often rhetorical, was at first popular among Christian theologians, but by the 5th century it was largely forgotten.
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