Saint Theodōros of Edessa
القديس ثيودور الرهاوي
Today in the Orthodox Church is also one of two feast days – the other being the ninth of July – given to Bishop Saint Theodōros of Edessa. The Life of this holy monastic and hierarch of the Antiochian Church under the rule of the early Muslim Caliphate, was apparently a remarkable work of mediæval Arabic Christian literature, and was structured somewhat similarly to a novel. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Life of Saint Theodōros was popularly read in Russia. In this spirit, it was translated into English by Russian historian and Byzantinist Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Vasil’ev. In this hagiography, in which both realist and romantic tendencies may be observed, the character and temperament of this remarkable saint, even as a child, becomes readily apparent.
Saint Theodōros [Gk. Θεόδωρος, Ar. Thiyyûdûr ثيودور] was born to Christian parents named Sim‘ân and Maryam in the Mesopotamian town of Edessa – today ar-Ruhâ – in the ninth century. His parents, who already had a daughter, longed to have a male child as well, and prayed for a son. Their prayer was answered. The two of them had the same vision on the same night, of Saint Theodōros together with Saint Paul. The two parents were promised that they would indeed have a son, and soon thereafter Maryam conceived and bore him. At the age of two, he was baptised by the Archbishop of Edessa in the name of Theodōros.
Theodōros was apparently not the most well-behaved or studious of children. His parents began to educate him at the age of five, but he was slow in his studies. For not completing his lessons well, he was scolded by his parents and even beaten by his schoolmaster. On one occasion, also, while the Archbishop was holding Divine Liturgy in Edessa, young Theodōros crept behind the ikonostasis and fell asleep under the altar. There he had a vision of a young child, who brought him a honeycomb. Then the child gave him a staff, and told Theodōros that he should become a monk. At this, Theodōros fell down at the feet of the child, and asked his blessing that he might apply himself to learning the Holy Scriptures. When he awoke and emerged from under the altar, the Archbishop was not angry, but instead asked the child what it was he’d seen. Theodōros told the Archbishop his vision, and the hierarch understood that the child he’d seen had been Christ Himself. By giving Theodōros a staff, He had foretold that the boy would become a bishop. At once the Archbishop ordained Theodōros as a reader in the Church. From that time forward, Theodōros had no more trouble in his studies, and he applied himself diligently to what he read and retained what he knew. He grew in understanding of the Scriptures, and also learned the arts of grammar, logic and rhetoric.
Either twelve years after this, or when Theodōros was twelve years old, he lost both of his parents. Of what he inherited from them, he took one portion and gave it to his elder sister, so that she would marry well – and indeed, at length, she did. The rest he gave away, distributing it to the poor and leaving nothing for himself. He set out for Palestine as a pilgrim, eager to walk in the footsteps of the Lord, to visit the Holy Sepulchre and to venerate the other holy places there. He also set out with the intention of renouncing the world and becoming a monk, which he did when he came to Dayr Mâr Sâbâ – the Holy Lavra of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified.
He spent another twelve years there in the novitiate, and entered the full seclusion of the monastic life, in which he spent a further twenty-four years. At this point, the Archbishop of Edessa reposed in the Lord, and no one more suitable was found to replace him than Saint Theodōros the Sabbaite. Both Patriarchs of Antioch and of Jerusalem, together with the monastic clergy of the Lavra and the clergy and laity of Edessa, all agreed to allow the holy monk to be enthroned there. In this way the Lord was calling him to become a bishop, and he had little choice but to accept despite his desire for the quiet and solitude of the contemplative life at Dayr Mâr Sâbâ. This occurred during the reign of Emperor Michael III.
Theodōros did not find the undertaking of being a bishop an easy one, let alone leaving the cœnobitic community he loved, but he submitted himself to God’s will. When he was to be consecrated as bishop of Edessa, the throng in attendance beheld a wonder. A dove, as white as snow, was seen flying under the dome of the cathedral church, which then lit upon the head of the new bishop. This was taken to be a sign from the Holy Ghost.
Saint Theodōros proved himself to be a worthy and able bishop, concentrating all his abilities upon serving the people under his care, and making himself a model of the virtues for their edification. In his words and in his actions he modelled patience, humility, trust in God and love for his neighbours; and he continued the ascetic disciplines he had learned among the Sabbaites. In this way Saint Theodōros guided his flock on the path to salvation. He was not sparing upon the hæretical beliefs which were common in the East at the time, in particular Manichæism, monophysitism and Nestorianism, but admonished them when he had the opportunity, the better to preserve his flock from false beliefs. He was also guided by a holy man, one of the stylites named Theodosios who lived atop a pillar outside Edessa, to whom Saint Theodōros repaired when he was in need of wisdom or consolation.
With Theodosios’s blessing, the Bishop of Edessa set forth to Baghdad to meet with the third son of the Arab Caliph al-Mutawakkil, the prince al-Mu‘ayyad, in order to complain about the treatment of the Orthodox faithful at the hands of the followers of the hæretical sects. When he arrived in the capital, however, he found the young man to be seriously ill. Calling upon the name of the Lord, and taking some hallowed earth which he had brought from the Holy Sepulchre in al-Quds, he mixed it into a beaker of water and bade the young prince drink from it. By this means al-Mu‘ayyad was cured. Naturally, the son of the Muslim Caliph was eager to know by what means his health had been restored. Saint Theodōros began to teach him about Christ, and the way in which He gained the victory over death by his death. Al-Mu‘ayyad listened with great attention to his benefactor, and along with the three attendants who were with him, asked to be baptised. Saint Theodōros baptised al-Mu‘ayyad in the name of the Holy Trinity, bestowing upon him the baptismal name of Yûḥannâ. Shortly after his baptism, for openly professing his faith in Christ before the Muslims, Yûḥannâ was put to a martyr’s death together with his attendants.
This part of the legend is doubted by many modern historians, who say there is little attested connexion in contemporary records between the historical al-Mu‘ayyad and Christianity. However, Aleksandr Vasil’ev concedes, in his analysis of the Life, that it may have a grain of truth. There were a number of succession struggles between the sons of the Caliph, particularly after his death. Al-Mu‘ayyad did fall victim, unjustly, to one of these intrigues, being killed by his brother al-Mu‘tazz in 866 – however, this would have been long after the death of Saint Theodōros.
In the Life, it was revealed to both Elder Theodosios and to Saint Theodōros simultaneously in a vision, that the newly-illumined Yûḥannâ had indeed suffered martyrdom for the sake of Christ, had gone to a holy death and was numbered among the saints. Yûḥannâ promised that he would soon meet them in the Kingdom of Heaven, and this was a sign to Saint Theodōros that his own death was near. He again went on pilgrimage to al-Quds and venerated the holy places, returning to his old sanctuary of Dayr Mâr Sâbâ. Finally at rest in the solitude he had always treasured, he died peacefully in the Lord on the ninth of July, 848. This is the date of his commemoration in the churches in the Slavic tradition, including the OCA. His date of commemoration in the Church of Antioch, and in the other churches of the Greek tradition, is the nineteenth of July. Vasil’ev offers the explanation that this date was in fact the date of his interment at Dayr Mâr Sâbâ.
Saint Theodōros did leave behind several writings of his own, which have been compiled into the Philokalia. Of these writings, Saint Nikodemos says that they ‘abundantly offer to the attentive reader the fruit of holy wakefulness and of spiritual usefulness. So, you that desire your salvation, come and take your fill!’ These are the Hundred Chapters of the Ascetic Life (Κεφάλαια πρακτικά), the Teaching on the Orthodox Faith (Διδασκαλία περὶ πίστεως ὀρθοδοξον) and the Word on Faith and the Discernment of Heretics (Λόγος πίστεως καὶ διακρίσεως αἱρετικῶν). Holy father Theodōros, peaceable monastic and trustworthy overseer of the flock of Edessa, pray unto Christ our God on behalf of us sinners!
Apolytikion of Saint Theodōros, Tone 4:
You are a guide of Orthodoxy,
A teacher of piety and modesty,
A luminary of the world,
The God-inspired pride of monastics.
O wise Theodōros, you have enlightened everyone by your teachings.
You have the harp of the Spirit.
Intercede to Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.
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