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It
was
a
very
difficult
time
for
the
prelate
to
shepherd
his
flock.
The
governor
of
the
city,
Martha
Boretskaya,
and
her
partisans
aroused
the
people
against
Great
Prince
Ivan
III
of
Moscow,
while
the
monk
Pimen,
a
friend
of
the
Boretsky’s,
sowed
hatred
toward
the
archbishop.
Some
of
the
rebels
wanted
to
place
Novgorod
under
the
protection
of
Lithuania,
and
betray
the
sovereign.
They
were
ready
also
to
waiver
in
the
faith
of
their
forefathers.
"Do
not
betray
Orthodoxy,"
St.
Theophilus
told
them,
"for
I
will
not
be
a
pastor
to
apostates,
but
I
will
return
to
the
humble
cell
from
which
you
brought
me
to
this
disgraceful
rebellion."
(This
letter
of
disavowal
of
the
saint,
written
in
1479,
is
preserved.)
The
short-sighted
people
did
not
heed
the
words
of
the
pastor,
and
a
fratricidal
war
broke
out
between
Moscow
and
Novgorod.
The
defeated
Novgorodians
were
compelled
to
beg
for
mercy,
and
many
of
them
owed
their
life
to
the
intercessions
of
the
saint.
In
1478,
he
tried
in
vain
to
convince
the
Tsar
to
lift
his
siege
of
the
city,
but
Ivan
kept
in
place
until,
at
last,
he
was
able
to
enter
the
city
and
take
it.
On
January
19,
1480,
Theophilus
was
removed
because
of
slanders,
and
was
sent
as
an
exile
to
the
Chudov
Monastery
near
Moscow.
In
1485,
the
saint
became
extremely
ill.
While
he
lie
ill,
St.
Niphont
of
Novgorod
(April
8),
who
is
buried
in
the
Kiev
Caves
of
St
Anthony,
appeared
to
him
in
a
dream.
The
saint
reminded
him
of
his
promise
to
venerate
the
Kievan
wonderworkers,
telling
him
that
the
days
of
his
life
were
short
and
so
he
must
hurry
to
fulfill
his
vow.
Thereupon,
St.
Theophilus
set
out
for
Kiev
even
though
he
was
gravely
ill.
When
his
party
had
arrived
at
the
Dniepr,
however,
he
received
a
revelation
that
although
he
would
not
reach
the
Caves
alive,
his
body
would
rest
in
them.
This
was
fulfilled.
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