Hierarch5th century

Philo Bishop of Kolpasteia

5th century

Also known as Philon of Karpasia, Cyprus

A bishop in Cyprus, ordained by St. Epiphanius, who shepherded his flock and reposed in peace.

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Philo the Wonderworker, Bishop of Carpasia in Cyprus

Life

Saint Philo (also rendered Philon or Philonas) was a bishop of Carpasia (Karpasia) on the island of Cyprus, venerated as a hierarch and, in the Greek tradition, as a wonderworker. According to the synaxarion he was ordained to the episcopate by Saint Epiphanius of Salamis, the great bishop and Church Father of Cyprus, whose spiritual child Philo was reckoned to be. He shepherded his flock at Carpasia and reposed in peace; his memory is kept on January 24.

Sources record that Philo had served as a deacon, said to have come from Rome, before his elevation. By tradition his consecration is bound up with the household of the imperial family: the sister of the emperors Arcadius (who ruled in the East) and Honorius (who ruled in the West) had fallen ill, and Philo was sent in connection with the healings attributed to Saint Epiphanius. On arriving in Cyprus he was ordained bishop of Carpasia by Epiphanius. The account of his deaconate and of Epiphanius entrusting him with administrative oversight derives from the early Life of Epiphanius.

Timeline4 momentsReadHide

Late 4th / early 5th c.Deacon and journey to CyprusPhilo, recorded as a deacon said to have come from Rome, came to Cyprus; the tradition links his arrival to the illness of the sister of the emperors Arcadius and Honorius and to the reputation of Saint Epiphanius for healing.
c. 401Ordained bishop of CarpasiaPhilo was consecrated bishop of Carpasia in Cyprus by Saint Epiphanius of Salamis. Carpasia, formerly within the bishopric of Salamis, became an episcopal district with Philo as its bishop.
During Epiphanius's absence at RomeAdministered the dioceseAccording to the Life of Epiphanius, Philo was entrusted with Epiphanius's official administration while Epiphanius was away at Rome.
5th centuryRepose at CarpasiaSaint Philo reposed and, by tradition, was buried at Carpasia. His memory is commemorated on January 24.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributionsReadHide

Writings

Saint Philo is best known as a biblical commentator. His principal surviving work is a Commentary on the Song of Songs, which circulated under the title 'Commentary on the Song of Songs of Philo, bishop of Carpasia.' The Greek text is preserved in a number of medieval manuscripts, and an ancient Latin translation was made in the sixth century at the direction of the statesman and scholar Cassiodorus. The commentary was printed by A. Giacomelli at Rome in 1772, later included in the patristic collection of A. Gallandi, and reproduced in Migne's Patrologia Graeca (vol. 40).

Beyond the commentary on the Song of Songs, the Souda credits Philo with a commentary on the Pentateuch. A Letter to Eucarpius and some fragments are also attributed to him. Early notices occasionally confused his see with the island of Carpathos (between Rhodes and Crete), but the manuscript tradition identifies him with Carpasia in Cyprus.

Relics & Shrines

Saint Philo was buried at Carpasia. A church dedicated to him survives near Rizokarpaso in the Karpas (Karpasia) peninsula of Cyprus, traditionally associated with the saint and built on the site of earlier ruins.

Companions1 figureShowHide

Spiritual father and Church Father of Cyprus, bishop of Salamis, who ordained him bishop of Carpasia.

Saint EpiphaniusBishop of Cyprus

Related Saints3 saintsShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Successor in the see of Carpasia and, like him, within the circle of St. Epiphanius of Salamis.

Saint SynesiusBishop of Carpasia

Fellow disciple of St. Epiphanius who embraced monasticism and became a hierarch in Cyprus.

Saint SabinusArchbishop of Cyprus

Fellow disciple of St. Epiphanius and chronicler of his teacher's life, a bishop in Cyprus.

Saint PolybiusBishop in Cyprus

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Jan 24