Theophilus of Caesarea

Saint Theophilus was bishop of Caesarea in Palestine in the second century and died about the year 196. Caesarea was the city formerly called Turris Stratonis (Strato's Tower). His commemoration is on 5 March. His name means lover of God.

One source says he was the teacher of Clement of Alexandria, while Eusebius says only that he was well known. At the end of the second century a dispute flared up over the date of the celebration of Pascha, this time between Victor, bishop of Rome, and Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus. The Christians of Asia Minor, where Polycrates was bishop at Ephesus, ended the fast and kept Pascha on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, the day of the Old Testament Passover, on whatever day of the week this date fell, following a tradition received from the apostles John the Evangelist and Philip. At Rome Pascha was kept on the Sunday after 14 Nisan, according to a later custom. The custom of keeping it on 14 Nisan was the older one, but toward the end of the second century it was spreading less and less among Christians.

In 196 Victor convened a local synod at Rome, which confirmed the western custom: the Sunday after the Friday of the Passion. Similar synods were held in other regions: one of the bishops of Pontus, under the presidency of the senior bishop, Palmas; one of the bishops of Gaul, under Irenaeus; one in Osrhoene; and one at Corinth, under Bishop Bacchylus. All decided to keep Pascha on the Sunday after 14 Nisan.

Narcissus, bishop of Jerusalem, Theophilus of Caesarea, Cassius, bishop of Tyre, Clarus of Ptolemais and others held a synod in Palestine, which likewise decided that Pascha should be kept on the Sunday after 14 Nisan. Eusebius of Caesarea cites in his Church History a fragment of the decision of this synod, published under the name of Theophilus in volume 5 of the Patrologia Graeca. The forty-⁠third chapter of Saint Jerome's book On Illustrious Men is devoted to Theophilus, and his life is included in the Acta Sanctorum under 5 March. It is also said that he supported keeping the Nativity of the Lord on 25 December, but this is found in a single source.