The Venerable Theophan was born in Constantinople to noble parents Isaac and Theodotia. Isaac, being a military commander, strictly adhered to the Orthodox faith, for which he suffered persecution during the iconoclastic heresy. Theophan, named in honor of the Feast of Theophany, aspired to monastic life from his youth, distributing his wealth to the poor.
After the death of his father and mother, he, being betrothed, proposed to his fiancée to preserve her virginity and dedicate herself to God. They both received a blessing for this decision from an angel in a dream. Theophan, seeking a life of solitude, went to the Sigran Mountains, where he met the elder Gregory, who predicted his martyr's end.
Theophan became the abbot of a monastery, where he demonstrated humility and diligence, as well as healed the sick and cast out demons. He was summoned to the Seventh Ecumenical Council, where he affirmed Orthodoxy. During the reign of Leo the Armenian, who promoted the iconoclastic heresy, Theophan was imprisoned and tortured, but he did not renounce his faith.
After two years of imprisonment, he was exiled to the island of Samothrace, where he died, receiving the crown of a confessor. His relics, possessing healing power, were transferred to his monastery, where miracles continued to occur.
