The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

Canonised Father of the Church

Theophilus of Antioch

Bishop of Antioch in the later second century and the first Christian writer known to use the word Trinity of God.

  • Historical consensusBroadly agreed among historians working from the surviving evidence. Consensus can shift when the evidence or the method changes.
  • Received Orthodox teachingTaught consistently and received throughout the Orthodox Church, though not necessarily formulated in a conciliar definition. This is not a claim that no Father ever wrote differently.

Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

What still needs checking (2)
  • Archive Books II and III of To Autolycus, which contain the Trinity passage.
  • Confirm his commemoration, if any, against an official Orthodox source.

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Dates
flourished around 180 — Nothing is known of his birth or death; his three books to Autolycus are the only surviving works.
Region
Syria
See
Antioch
Language of composition
Greek

Life

Theophilus was bishop of Antioch in the second half of the second century. Eusebius names him sixth in succession in that see and mentions works against Marcion and against the heretic Hermogenes, which have not survived.

What survives is three books addressed to a pagan friend named Autolycus, arguing that the God of the Christians is knowable through his works, that the Scriptures are older than Greek literature, and that Christian teaching is neither novel nor immoral.

Works

Generally accepted as authentic

Theological and spiritual contribution

Theophilus is the first Christian writer known to apply the Greek word for triad — hypostasis is not yet in play — to God: he speaks of God, his Word and his Wisdom. That is not the developed doctrine of the Trinity, and the page would be misleading if it implied otherwise. It is the earliest surviving use of the word in a Christian theological sense.

He also argues at length from the antiquity of the Scriptures, which mattered in a culture where age conferred authority, and gives an early account of creation and of the human person made for immortality.

  • The Holy Trinity

    One God in three persons: how the Church came to say it, and why the words were fought over.

    Theme

  • Irenaeus of Lyons

    Bishop in Gaul who had heard Polycarp as a boy; the first great theologian of Tradition, of the fourfold Gospel, and of salvation as the recapitulation of all things in Christ.

    Father or writer

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Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Fathers of the Second Century Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (eds.) To Autolycus, Book I translated edition of primary texts Archived here. Source record
  2. Tier C Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.); Arthur Cushman McGiffert (trans.) Eusebius, Church History, Book IV, Chapter 24 translated edition of primary texts On his works, including those now lost. Source record

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