Even before the Mongol invasion, the governance system in Great Novgorod differed from the ruling structures of other Rus’ lands. The Mongol-Tatar invasion did not affect the Novgorodians, and they maintained their established traditions. The supreme power in Novgorod was held by the assembly of the city’s residents, known as the veche. The veche was supported by a council of elected officials led by the archbishop. The prince, meanwhile, did not rule but was invited temporarily as a military leader or judge, with strictly limited powers. Although considering Novgorod part of Rus’, its citizens were ready to defend their unique legal order with arms if necessary.

After the repose of St. Jonah on December 5, 1471, Theophilus, a protodeacon and sacristan of the Otenskaya Hermitage, was chosen by lot to take the episcopal see of Novgorod and Pskov. On December 15, 1472, he was consecrated as archbishop in Moscow.

It was challenging for the holy archbishop to govern his flock. Posadnitsa Martha Boretskaya and her followers incited the people against Grand Prince Ivan III, while Monk Pimen, a friend of the Boretsky family, sowed hatred toward the archbishop. Some rebels even sought to place Novgorod under the protection of Lithuania, thereby risking the faith of their ancestors. St. Theophilus rebuked them sternly: “Either do not betray Orthodoxy,” he told them, “or I will not be the shepherd of apostates, and I will return to the humble cell from which you dragged me to this spectacle of rebellion.”

The blinded populace did not heed their shepherd’s words. War erupted. Repeatedly defeated, the Novgorodians were forced to seek mercy, and Archbishop Theophilus became their advocate. Many Novgorodian boyars owed their release from Lithuanian prisons to him. In 1478, he unsuccessfully urged Prince Ivan to lift the siege, but Ivan entered Novgorod.

On January 19, 1480, it is said that Archbishop Theophilus was removed from his position, allegedly due to secret ties with Lithuania, and sent to the Chudov Monastery in Moscow. However, he might have voluntarily requested to retire there, seeing the turmoil in Novgorod.

In 1485, Theophilus fell seriously ill. Venerable Niphont, Bishop of Novgorod, appeared to him in a dream, saying: “You promised to venerate the saints of the Pechersk, but you did not fulfill your promise — therefore, the Lord has shortened your life. Do you not know that one who fails to fulfill a vow to God will not see the face of God?” Thus, Theophilus ordered himself to be taken, ill as he was, to Kyiv. But when they reached the Dnipro River, the Lord appeared to him, foretold his repose, and promised to receive his soul, commanding that his body be placed in the cave.

After this, St. Theophilus passed away. His incorrupt body, encased in a tarred coffin, floated to the Pechersk Monastery, where it was placed in the cave.

The commemoration of the saint is celebrated on November 8 (October 26, Old Style). Sources, including the Novgorod Chronicle of the Churches of God, cite this date as the day of the hierarch’s repose.

Additionally, St. Theophilus’s name is included in the Assembly of the Novgorod Saints, honored on the third Sunday after the Feast of the Holy Trinity.