saint
Timothy, Bishop of Prussa
Bishop in Bithynia under Julian the Apostate, beheaded for refusing to retract his public rebukes of the emperor's apostasy from Christianity back to paganism.
Life
Timothy was bishop of Prussa in Bithynia in the middle of the fourth century — a city whose hot springs made it a regular stop for the imperial court and pilgrims of every persuasion. He served his see through the troubled years following Constantine, when the Arian controversy had divided the empire and the brief reign of Julian the Apostate (361–363) had brought a new attempt at the restoration of paganism.
Timothy, by the synaxarion's account, had been particularly outspoken in his rebukes of Julian's relapse — a courageous and rare position to take given the emperor's personal acquaintance with Christian theology and his particular hostility to bishops who criticized him by name. When the imperial court passed through Bithynia, Julian demanded that the bishop be brought before him, ordered him to retract his rebukes, and on Timothy's refusal had him beheaded around 362.
His feast falls on June 10.
Traditions
Feast day
June 10
Topics
Works in library