The Orthodox Church commemorates today Saints Eulampius and Eulampia, their brothers and the 200 martyrs with them, and Saint Theophilos.
Saint Theophilos the Confessor was brought up with the principles of the Christian faith, avoiding the temptation of hypocrisy and falsehood.
When he was young he paid monk Stephen a visit, who broadened his spiritual horizons and taught him how to be an authentic monk beyond worldly-mindedness. He e built with his parents’ help a monastery on Mount Selenteia, where he followed a monastic way of life.
During the reign of the iconoclast emperor, Leo the Isaurian, Theophilos left the monastery and began to preach Orthodoxy and to advise the people of God.
As a result, he was imprisoned and subjected to beatings and torture. The Saint managed to keep the flame of faith alive and after enduring martyrdom, returned to the monastery, where he was welcomed and honored by the other monks. He fell asleep in the Lord at the monastery.
Some of the cornerstones of the daily struggle of a conscious Christian are faith, trust in the will of God, patience, bravery, perseverance, and love for God and human beings.
The same goes for, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, modern Christians, who face daily the torment of conscience and especially the young people who have to deal with our so-called “postmodern” era.
Source: Church of Cyprus
