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Theophilus of Alexandria published a 100‐year Paschal list beginning in the first consulship of Theodosius, AD 380. That year corresponds to the first of the classical Alexandrian cycle, but it is not necessarily the case that the 19‐year cycle of Theophilus began in that year. The earliest unambiguous evidence for a 19‐year cycle calibrated to the first year of Diocletian is the 110‐year list that Cyril dedicated to the emperor Theodosius II. He states explicitly that the first year of the list, AD 403, was the fifth year of the 19‐year cycle. Cyril perhaps adopted the form of the cycle that had been promulgated by Annianus, an Alexandrian monk who lived in the time of Theophilus.

Muyser has pointed out that the Arabic text bears all the indications of a translation from the Coptic, and that the Scala copte 44 identifies “Aidhab” with Berenike. According to the text of the Synaxarion, Bishop Nabis was born in a village near Coptos and became a monk at an early age. Bishop Nabis did not reside in “Aidhab” but in a small church at Coptos. When it was necessary for the bishop to go there himself, the Beja, a tribe that lived in Nubia and the Eastern Desert in Upper Egypt, carried him and the church ornaments on their camels, receiving a price for the hire of their beasts. The life of Pesynthios also records that Patriarch Theophilus (385–412) consecrated John, the younger brother of Pesynthios, as bishop of the diocese of Hermonthi.

A west Syrian strand of history, originating with Theophilus, a Chalcedonian Christian from Edessa who became chief astrologer to the Caliph Mahdi (775–85), can be picked out in four later works, one Byzantine, one Arab, and two Syrian. The field of vision includes the author's homeland, Syria, the east Mediterranean, and Asia Minor. Transcaucasia is largely excluded. For the early seventh century, little is added to what can be extracted from contemporary and near‐contemporary sources, save for anecdotal material. But Theophilus is shown to make a valuable contribution to knowledge about the Arab conquest of Palestine and Syria, the battle for the Mediterranean between the caliphate and Byzantium (649–98), and subsequent campaigns which culminated in the siege of Constantinople 717–18. There is enough independent corroborative material to justify placing confidence in his account.

Theophanes' Chronographia is a rich repository of material culled from earlier sources, put together soon after 810. He made extensive use of George of Pisidia's official history of Heraclius' Persian campaigns and based his account of the period following the assassination of Constans II (669) on Theophilus of Edessa (in a Greek translation) and the early eighth‐century source also used (more sparingly) by Nicephorus. This last work is identified as the political memoirs of the Patrician Trajan. While Theophanes may have reworked what he transmits (when his religious principles or prejudices were activated) and had to allocate precise dates, if necessary by guesswork, to every event recorded (because of his annalistic format), he supplies much unique information, notably about military operations 624–8, the fall of Khusro, and the climactic phase in the battle between Byzantium and Islam (692–718).

The patriarchs of Alexandria would cast long shadows over the history of Egyptian monasticism. This chapter focuses on the five most influential: Alexander, Athanasius, Theophilus, Cyril, and Dioscorus. It surveys both their careers and their theological controversies, especially their doctrine-defining clashes at the ecumenical Councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, and Chalcedon. This chapter provides critical historical and theological background, since the politics and theologies of the bishops of Alexandria figure prominently in early monastic literature, and their international prominence would help draw the world’s attention to Egypt and its monks.

This chapter looks at the division of wrongs into délits and quasi-délits in the most significant work of the French ancien droit, Pothier's Traité des obligations, and then in the Code civil of 1804. It explains how Pothier redrew the line between delicts and quasi-delicts one rung higher on the ladder of blameworthiness (between dolus and culpa rather than culpa and casus), thereby opening up a structural gap at the level of casus. The Civil Code, which does not define délits or quasi-délits, is invariably believed to have followed Pothier on this point, hence the modern French definition of délit as an intentional wrong and quasi-délit as a negligent wrong. A systematic study of the travaux préparatoires of the Code shows, however, shows that this assumption is mistaken, the draftsmen of the Code having in reality sat on the fence in respect of this question.

It has usually been thought that Calvinism and Puritanism were inhospitable to the currents of ancient theology and hermetic lore that were important elements of Renaissance Learning. But Theophilus Gale (1629–1678) was a Puritan Calvinist who devoted himself to producing a multivolume masterwork entitled The Court of the Gentiles that developed a version of this material. Largely based on philology, Gale argued that all ancient language, knowledge, and philosophy (including that of Plato) derived from the Jews, who had received it as divine revelation, although the Gentiles who borrowed it also corrupted it. Gale's work presented a scheme for the organization of all knowledge and a reformed Platonism that he thought restored the original true philosophy. Gale was also a high Calvinist who emphasized predestination and thought moral virtue impossible without divine grace.

The Hippolytan composition on the parousia of the antichrist provides general indicators of an eastern character. The high view of the Apocalypse presupposes a community of origin in which the book was received without controversy and utilized as a source of theology and history. The addressee of the treatise, whose historicity has been questioned, matches the profile of three eastern bishops known to Eusebius. Manuscript research supports the inclusion of the document in the non-provenance tradition. The theology of the treatise differs from the Jerusalem tradition, in so far as Cyril is an exemplar of that tradition, in that the Apocalypse is a central source. The Cyrilian rejection of the Apocalypse, despite the acceptance of an antichrist doctrine, distinguishes the later Palestinian view from the Hippolytan. The treatise reflects the Asian legend that John, the son of Zebedee, the apostle of Jesus, was the author. The antichrist treatise is addressed to Theophilus. The manuscnpts are united in ascribing the treatise to a Hippolytus.

The style of music appropriate for church was a constant topic of debate. The 16th century saw Lutherans pitted against followers of the Swiss Reformation. Later in the century, an increase in polyphonic choral music competed with congregational singing for supremacy. Attempts were made to use both by alternating stanzas within hymns or having the people sing a hymn melody while the choir sang in parts (the cantional style). In the 17th century, the new Italian style was imported into Germany and caused considerable controversy, which continued into the eighteenth century (the cantata debate). By 1750 the liturgy was truly congregational in virtually all of Germany, and the choir was less of a liturgical ensemble than a performing one. Important voices in the debate included Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, Wolfgang Amling, Michael Praetorius, Theophilus Grossgebauer, Hector Mithobius, Christian Gerber, Georg Motz, and various representatives of Pietism, Lutheran Orthodoxy, and Rationalism.

The date of the lex Aquilia is controversial. One view is that it was associated with a secession of the plebs. This association is made by Byzantine jurists, such as Theophilus, and it is argued that their view may be based on sources unknown to us. However the same association is made by medieval jurists who are unlikely to have had knowledge of such sources and so the association may well be based on speculation rather than evidence.

Chapter 5 details two central and distinctive aspects of Irenaeus’ theology of the Holy Spirit emphasized in Against Heresies 4: the identification of the Spirit as one of the Hands of God and as Wisdom. Both of these identifications fall into the larger category of the Spirit as Creator tradition, for in each case the identification indicates a particular role in creation. As a Hand of God, the Spirit is involved in the formation of Adam. As Wisdom, the Spirit is responsible for the harmonious character of creation as a whole. Irenaeus’ attribution of creative activity to the Spirit is the most important aspect of his pneumatology: it secures the divinity of the Holy Spirit because the work of creation belongs to God alone, while also distinguishing the identity of the Holy Spirit from the Father and Son. Finally, the influence of Theophilus of Antioch factors in the discussion of this chapter, for it argues that To Autolycus is the source of the Hands imagery in Irenaeus, but not the source of his identification of the Spirit as Wisdom.

By the autumn of 1879, The Territory was under new management. Colonel Owen Lanyon had been translated from Griqualand West on March 4, 1879 to replace Sir Theophilus Shepstone as Administrator. This chapter discusses Lanyon's efforts to end Sekhukhune's open rebellion and prove that the British administration could enforce its authority.

Beginning with Theophilus, the Nicene bishops of Alexandria used imperial support to assert themselves within their city and its surroundings. Early in his career, Theophilus drew upon the same episcopal and ascetic coalition that Athanasius had used to sustain himself and his followers during his later exiles. He mobilized them for a far different purpose, however. Instead of defending the church against impious attacks, Theophilus and his followers led an offensive that spread the faith by destroying Alexandria's pagan religious infrastructure. With imperial help, they then refashioned the city's sacred space through the construction of urban monasteries and martyria. Just as Athanasius served as a model for episcopal defense of orthodoxy, bishop Theophilus's attack on the Alexandrian Serapeum and the complex of temples at Canopus marked him as an exemplar of anti-pagan leadership. Cyril, Theophilus's successor, continued to echo Theophilus by taking periodic swipes at paganism, but he also used the figure of Athanasius to present himself as a fighter for doctrinal orthodoxy.

Sir Theophilus Shepstone became Administrator of the Transvaal Territory in April 1877. This chapter discusses Shepstone's policies and his efforts to assert British power. During this period, Shepstone was convinced that Sekhukhune formed an alliance with King Cetshwayo of the amaZulu. Rumors then began to spread in the early spring of 1877 about the black conspiracy to shake off the domination of the white men and expel them from the country.

This chapter surveys how bishops Athanasius, Theophilus, and Cyril interacted with the monks of northern Egypt. Although at times Kellia, Nitria, or Scetis are discussed in particular, for the most part the chapter speaks generally of monks resident in the semi-eremitical communities of the north. It is often difficult to determine precisely where the monks that they name were located, and the settlements at Kellia often served as a subset or more withdrawn version of other communities in Nitria. Kellia in particular was most populous in the sixth and seventh centuries, but the discussions focus on the fourth and fifth centuries, when the relationship between the monks and the patriarch was first established. The most significant areas or themes of the interactions between these monks and the patriarchs were proper ascetic practice, appointment to the episcopate, and the promotion of orthodoxy and the suppression of heresy and paganism.

This chapter explores the “Book of Acts”, or the “Acts of the Apostles”. The chapter looks at the preface, narratives, speeches, and other letters in chronological order. This book was mainly intended for Theophilus as well as other readers and its primarily focus was the speeches of two figures: Peter and Paul. The next part of the chapter presents a discussion on the rhetorical features of discourses in Acts.

This chapter considers the work of Athenagoras of Athens. Along with other Christian intellectuals, Athenagoras writes (in 176/177 CE) in response to a wave of localized persecutions and the popular rise of untenable claims against Christians. Throughout disparate parts of the Roman Empire, the lack of specific jurisprudence concerning the Christians produced the repetition of precedents resulting in the arrest and execution of Polycarp, the famous bishop of Smyrna, and the riotous action taken against random Christians in Lyons and Vienne (central Gaul). Whether he knew of particular incidents or others, Athenagoras is familiar enough with the Christian situation to ask for “an end to the slaughter at the hands of lying informers.” The chapter also examines the work of Theophilus of Antioch.

This chapter examines the prominence of Jews in Marian miracle stories. In order to exemplify the right approach to praising and celebrating Mary, the miracle story often made use of the trope of the “bad guy”—commonly depicted as Jewish—against which the good devotee is contrasted. The Jewish characters in miracle collections generally carry out the opposite of what appropriate devotion should look like: desecration instead of veneration, doubt instead of belief, violence instead of mercy. After tracing the origins of the juxtaposition between Mary and the Jews in narrative, the chapter considers a number of stories that portrayed the Jew as an antagonist against whom to exercise Mary's mercy and justice, including the tale of Theophilus and the stories of the Jewish boy, the image of Mary at Lydda, the Virgin's Image Insulted, the Jews of Toledo, Theodore and Abraham, and the Jews of Toulouse.