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Medieval Sourcebook:
The Life of St. Theodore of Sykeon

From Three Byzantine Saints: Contemporary Biographies of St. Daniel the Stylite, St. Theodore of Sykeon and St. John the Almsgiver, trans. Elizabeth Dawes, and introductions and notes by Norman H. Baynes, (London: 1948)

INTRODUCTION

by Norman H. Baynes

[For introduction to the whole volume see The Life of Daniel the Stylite]

WE have chosen this biography for translation since it gives the best picture known to us of life in Asia Minor in the Byzantine period before the Arab invasions of the Empire. St. Theodore was a contemporary of St. John the Almsgiver, and it may suffice to refer for the historical background to the references given on p. 263. [ie. The notes to the Life of John the Almsgiver]

The references in this Life to the general history of the Empire are few and slight, but for the Persian invasion of East Roman territory see ch. 49, 54, 120.

The Emperor Heraclius later transported St. Theodore's body to Constantinople in order that its presence there might protect the capital from the Persian attack: [cf. C. Kirch, Nicephori sceuophylacis encomium in S. Theodorum Siceotam, Analecta Bollandiana 20 (1901), pp. 249­72].

IN the country of Galatia there is a village called Sykeon under the jurisdiction of the town of Anastasioupolis which belongs to the province of Galatia Prima, namely that of Ancyra, Sykeon lies twelve miles distant from Anastasioupolis.*

The public highway of the imperial post* ran through this village, and on the road stood an inn kept by a very beautiful girl, Mary, and her mother, Elpidia, and a sister Despoinia. And these women lived in the inn and followed the profession of courtesans.

At that time when Justinian of pious memory was Emperor [*reigned 527-566] certain imperial decrees were being dispatched from the capital, and thus it chanced that a certain well­known man, Cosmas by name, who had become popular in the Hippodrome in the corps of those who performed acrobatic feats on camels, was appointed to carry out the Emperor's orders.

On this man's journey to the East he stayed for some time in the inn, and seeing Mary and how fair she was, he desired her and took her to his bed. From this union she conceived and saw in a dream a very large and brilliant star* descending from heaven into her womb. She awoke all trembling with fear and related the vision she had seen in the night to Cosmas, the imperial messenger, and he said to her, 'Take good care of yourself, dear, for perchance God will watch over you and give you a son who will be deemed worthy to become a bishop'. With these words he left her in the morning and went on his way rejoicing.

Next the woman visited a holy father who could foresee the future who lived six miles off near the village of Balgatia,* and related to him what she had seen in her dream. The old man said to her, 'I tell you of a truth that the son who shall be born of you will become a great man, not as men hold greatness, but he will be well­pleasing to God. For a brilliant star is held to signify the glory of a king by those who are expert in interpreting visions; but with you it must not be read thus. For it is the brilliant adornment of virtues and graces which God has sent down upon the babe in your womb that you saw in the likeness of a brilliant star; for thus He is wont to consecrate His worthy servants in the womb before they are born'. When Theodosius who had been appointed bishop of the town of Anastasioupolis heard of her vision, he, too, by God's inspiration gave to her the same interpretation.

When her full time was accomplished, Mary bore the servant of God; and after some days had passed, she carried him, as is the custom among Christians, to the Holy Church of the Orthodox and showed him to the priests who baptized him in the name of the Holy Trinity and named him 'Theodore', thus showing by this name that he would be the 'gift of God'. When the child was about six years old, his mother wanted him to enter the Emperor's service in the capital, so she made ready for him a gold belt and expensive clothes and everything else necessary, and then she prepared herself for the journey. On the night when she intended to start, God's holy martyr, St. George,* appeared to her and said, 'What is this plan, lady, which you have made for the boy? do not labour in vain, for the King in heaven has need of him'. And in the morning she arose and related her vision and wept saying, 'Assuredly death has drawn near to my boy'. After this she abandoned her journey. She wore herself away with increasing care of her son, and when he was eight years old she gave him to a teacher to be taught his letters. By the grace of God he was quicker at learning than all the other boys and made great progress

He was beloved by all and in his daily life became known to all for his virtues; for when he played with the others he always beat them, but no oath or blasphemy nor any unfitting word ever escaped his lips, nor did he allow the others to use one. And whenever any dispute arose in their games, he at once withdrew and through his actions put an end to it.

Now there lived in the house a God­fearing man called Stephen who used to make skilfully prepared dishes. The women by this time had become quite respectable, for they had abandoned their profession as prostitutes and followed the path of sobriety and godliness. They now relied upon the goodness of the fare when they entertained the many governors and officers who came to the inn, and they congratulated Stephen who had made the food so tasty. Whenever he received any money, either from the women or their guests, he spent it on the churches where he prayed regularly morning and evening. During Lent, although he prepared all the food for the women, he fasted till the evening partaking of nothing except perhaps a little boiled wheat* and water.

The women loved him and looked upon him as a father because he was such a true lover of Christ. The boy noticing this abstinence was moved by divine love and desired to copy Stephen's mode of life, according to the words of the apostle who said, 'Remember them that have the rule over you who spake unto you the word of God; and consider the issue of their life and imitate their faith . . . For it is good that the heart be stablished by grace; not by meats wherein they that occupied themselves were not profited' [Heb. 13:7,9] For meat commendeth us not to God.' [1 Cor 8:8].

His mother and the other women, unconscious of his heart's desire, compelled him to eat with them when he returned home from school at the dinner­hour; so when school was over he no longer came home for dinner but spent the whole day in the school fasting and in the evening he would come back and go off with the pious man, Stephen, to the holy churches and there pray and partake of the body and blood of Christ. Returning home he would share with Stephen his boiled wheat and water. However much the women and even Stephen himself urged him, he could not be persuaded to do as they wished. Then his mother asked the schoolmaster to send him home at the dinner hour as she wished to persuade him to eat at least a little vegetable food, because he was getting run down from want of food and from eating only so late in the day. The schoolmaster accordingly sent him away with the other boys, but Theodore did according to the song of David which says: 'In the Lord I have trusted; how shall ye say to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?' [Ps. 11:1]

When he came out of school he went up the rocky hill which lay near the village. Here there was a shrine dedicated to the martyr St. George. The Saint would guide him to the spot appearing visibly before his eyes in the form of a young man. Entering the shrine Theodore would sit down and busy himself with the study of the Holy Scriptures; and after midday he went back to the school and returned home in the evening. When his mother inquired why he had not appeared at dinner­time, he tricked her saying either that he had not been able to say his lesson and was therefore kept in*; or that he had a pain in his stomach and therefore had no appetite. So she again sent word to the master to send him home with the others, and he replied that since he had received her message he always did send him away with the others. Then she found out that he went up to the shrine and so she sent some of her servants to fetch him, and they brought him down to her. She threatened him and told him to come straight home from school to her; but he continued to act as he had been accustomed to do. His mother was very troubled about him, but in spite of all her threats and advice she was quite unable to make him change his fixed purpose, or to break the rules of abstinence which he had prescribed for himself.

When he was about twelve years old an epidemic of bubonic plague fell upon the village and it attacked him along with the others so that he came near to dying. They took him to the shrine of St. John the Baptist near the village and laid him at the entrance to the sanctuary, and above him where the cross was set* there hung an icon of our Saviour Jesus Christ. As he was suffering great pain from the plague suddenly drops of dew fell upon him from the icon, and immediately by the graceof God, freed from his suffering, he recovered and returned to his home.

As Theodore was sleeping at night with his mother and the women who lived with her Christ's martyr, George, came to him, and, steeping all the others in deep slumber, woke him up. The first few nights he came in the form of the Stephen whom we have already mentioned, and later, in his own person, and said to him, 'Get up, master Theodore, the dawn has risen, let us go and pray at the shrine of St. George'. Theodore got up readily and with great joy and the Saint led him away from the house up to his shrine, while it was still dark, so that the boy beheld some of the temptations caused by the demons, for the wicked demons, the enemies of truth, appeared on either side of him in the semblance of wolves and other wild beasts, and with gaping mouths they rushed upon him as though to kill him, in order that they might cause him through fear to give up his good purpose. But Christ's martyr took hold of him and, like a man wielding a sword, chased them from him, so that Theodore was no whit alarmed by the sight of the wild beasts but became even more zealous and never missed his visits to the shrine.

When he began to adopt this habit, his mother and the women sleeping with her would wake up in the morning, and not seeing him in his bed they suspected that he had crept out and was spending the nights in the martyr's shrine; and they wondered how it was, since he slept between them, that he got out so successfully without anybody noticing it. They were afraid he might be devoured by some beast, since a fierce wolf, which carried off children, had lately been haunting the neighbourhood; so they tried to coax him not to go up to the shrine, at least before sunrise, as it was a wild, and fearsome place. However, the boy would not be persuaded and when awakened by the martyr at the appointed hour he went off to the shrine. When the women did not find him in bed in the morning, they became very angry and sent servants who brought him back dragging him by the hair. His mother whipped him and tied him to the bed with his arms behind his back, and gave him no food.

That night God's holy martyr, George, appeared to Theodore's mother and the other women, girt with a sword, which he drew as he came towards them saying threateningly, 'Now I shall cut off your heads because you ill­treat and punish the boy and prevent his coming to me'. On their swearing solemnly that they would never do it again, he took back his threat and disappeared.

The women woke up from fright and loosed the boy and comforted him, imploring him not to be angry with them for their mistakes. They asked him how he dared go up to the shrine before dawn, to which he replied, 'First I went up with Stephen and afterwards with a very handsome and fine young man'. So they concluded that that must be the martyr they had seen in their dream, and yielding to the martyr's urgency they no longer tried to force the boy but said, 'God's will be done ! '

Theodore had a tiny sister called Blatta who sympathized with him and loved him dearly. Her heart was set on doing God's will and often she went up with Theodore to the shrine in the daytime, and she tried to imitate him in every act of selfdenial.

The boy had made very good progress in learning to read, when one day he went into the church of the holy martyr, Gemellus,* which was near his home and spent the night there. And he saw himself as though he were in the presence of a king surrounded by a strong bodyguard and a woman clad in purple at his side, and he heard the king say, 'Fight the good fight, Theodore, that you may receive full pay in the heavenly army, and on earth I will give you glory and honour in the sight of men'. When he had heard this voice, he awoke.

He was twelve years old when his heart was stirred by the message given to him by the King, Christ, in this vision, and in his zeal to follow the path leading to those better things which pertain to salvation he began to shut himself up in one of the cellars of his home from Epiphany to Palm Sunday, and during two weeks in Lent, the first and the middle one, he spoke to no one at all but offered prayers to God alone, and practised abstinence as he had done before.

Now when the devil, the enemy of truth, saw that Theodore was industriously acquiring the spiritual weapons of virtue against him, he determined to destroy him. Accordingly one day he assumed the appearance of one of Theodore's school fellows, Gerontius by name, and took him and led him up to the cliffs of a place called Tzidrama, and, setting him on a lofty crag of the cliffs there, put the temptation to him which was put to our Saviour, and said. 'If you are willing, master Theodore, to display your powers of conquest, display them here and jump down from this cliff.' But Theodore looked at the height which was really great and said to Gerontius, 'It is high and I am afraid'. The devil said to him, 'In the eyes of all the boys you are considered braver than I, and you outshine me, but in this matter I am no coward and will throw myself down'. The boy answered him, 'Don't do it! You may lame yourself, or even be killed'. As the other asserted he could do the feat without any danger, Theodore finally said to him, 'If you will, then I will too'. So the devil standing with him on the rock jumped down, and alighting on his feet shouted up to the boy Theodore, saying 'See, I have done it! If you dare, come down too, that I may see your bravery: if you can, as in all else, distinguish yourself in this test too'. Whilst the boy stood debating within himself full of fear at this utterly useless ordeal, and staggered at the boldness of the supposed Gerontius, who had never previously been so bold, George, the martyr of Christ, suddenly appeared and taking Theodore by the hand, led him away from the place, saying, 'Come, follow me, and do not listen to the tempting of him who is seeking your soul; for he is not Gerontius but the enemy of our race'. And so saying the holy martyr brought him to his oratory.

One day when Theodore was staying in the chapel of St. George his mother and his mother's mother came up to him and with much coaxing tried to force him to come down home saying that they expected the visit of some important friends. But the boy could not be persuaded by them to go down, for he fulfilled literally the words of holy scripture which says, 'The friendship of this world is emnity with God, and whoever would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God.' [Jam 4:4] and 'No one can serve God and Mammon.'[Luke 16:13] He also regarded the wealth of the world as nought and wishing to get rid of it, he unbuckled his gold belt, took off his necklace and the bracelet from his wrist and threw them down in front of the women saying, 'You suspect that these things may get lost and it is because of them you trouble me. Take them then and begone! for I will not leave this place.' And the women took them and went as they could not persuade him. For all his thoughts were towards the Lord Whom he imitated and in Whose footsteps he followed; he fled from his parents and ran to God; he gave up wealth and houses in order to be rewarded a hundredfold and inherit eternal life, [Luke 18:29] as the Lord who has promised this says: 'He that wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me !' [Mat 16:24]

For the boy nobly mortified his body, keeping it under and wearing it down, as though it were some alien thing which warred against his soul; and on his forehead he bore the Cross; and just as Peter and James and John and the rest of the apostles 'left all and followed Jesus' [Luke 5:11] so this boy likewise believed in the witness of the Scriptures and sought earnestly to mould his life thereon.

Further, he wanted to imitate David in his holy hymnwriting and accordingly began to learn the psalter. With difficulty and much labour he learnt as far as the sixteenth psalm, but he could not manage to get the seventeenth psalm by heart. He was studying it in the chapel of the holy martyr Christopher* (which was near the village) and as he could not learn it, he threw himself on his face and besought God to make him quick of learning in his study of the psalms. And the merciful God, Who said 'Ask and it shall be given you', [Mat 7:7] granted him his request. For as the boy got up from the ground and turned to the icon of our Saviour in prayer, he felt a sweetness more pleasant than honey poured into his mouth. He recognized the grace of God, partook of the sweetness and gave thanks to Christ, and from that hour on he memorized the psalter easily and quickly, and had learnt the whole of it by heart in a few days.

And he would wander about to all the churches, 'with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and praising the Lord' [Col 3:16]; and wherever a commemorative service in honour of a saint was being held, he attended it with joy. Similarly, on the occasion of the all­night service for the holy martyr Heuretus* held in the town of Iopolis,* fifteen miles away, he left at the hour of supper and ran fasting to this service and after praying and partaking of the divine mysteries of Christ, he returned and reached his home at midnight. For he was an exceedingly swift runner, so much so that several times for a wager he ran a race of three miles with horses and outstripped them.

Taking instructions from proverbs-from such texts as 'And if thou hearest of a man of understanding, get thee betimes unto him' [Ecclesias. 6:36]: and 'With the holy thou wilt be holy and with the elect elect' [Ps 18:26 = LXX Ps. 17:26-27], he acquired a great affection for the servants of God and wherever he heard of a righteous man, he would go to him and learn his manner of life gathering like a busy bee the flowers of the man's virtues* as if he were storing up food.

Now there was a certain holy father, Glycerius, by name, in a place called Trapezas about ten miles off, and Theodore went to him desiring to be blessed by him in order that like Elisha, the miracle­worker, who after being blessed by Elijah received a double portion of his spirit and grace, he himself might also in a similar manner through the blessing of our Saviour be deemed worthy of greater virtues and graces. 'For the blessing of a father establisheth the houses and the labours of children.' [Ecclesias. 3:9] When the man of God saw him, having by divine aid learnt of the virtuous manner of life that was flowering in him, he received him cordially and smiling at him said, 'Do you like the monkish habit, my son?' to which Theodore replied, 'Yes, certainly, father, I like it very much indeed and I long to be thought worthy of it myself.'

Now there was a drought in that district, and they both went out and stood in the open air in front of the apse of an oratory of St. John the Baptist which stood there. Then the blessed man said to the lad, 'Let us bend our knees in prayer, son, so that the Lord may be merciful and send down rain on the earth, and by that we shall know whether we are among the number of the Just'. Whilst they prayed, the sky became covered with clouds and after they had risen from prayer the Lord sent down much rain upon the earth. Filled with joy at His goodness the old man, with a smile on his face, said to the boy, 'From henceforth, my son, whatsoever you shall ask of the Lord, will be granted unto you. Therefore carry out your desire, and the Lord God will be with you and will give you increase both in bodily stature and in virtuous living'. When the boy had received the old man's blessing, he embraced him and returned home

By now he had reached the age of fourteen and decided within himself to bid a final farewell to his home and take up his abode in the martyr's oratory. And he did indeed bid farewell to the women, and went up to the oratory and lived there giving thanks to God; but as his mother and the women who lived with her still did not realize that he had irrevocably chosen his blessed mode of life and that his resolve was no youthful fancy, they used to carry up to him fresh white loaves, and divers kinds of boiled and roast birds. Theodore took them all indeed in order to satisfy them and because his fasting was in secret; however, he never touched any of these things but after his mother and her sister had gone down* he would come out of the chapel and throw all the food out on the rocks and go in again, and the birds and beasts ate it up. Or if by chance a man passed by, he would take them from the rock. The boy's nourishment was from the gifts brought to him in the martyr's chapel and if sometimes these failed, he was content with bread alone.

Once he heard tell of a certain place called Arkea eight miles away that it was impossible for anyone to go near it, especially at the midday hour, because it was rumoured that Artemis, as men called her, dwelt there with many demons and did people harm even unto death. As he was astonished at such a report he used to set off at a run for that place during the days of July and August, after he had recited the psalms set for the third hour, and would spend the whole afternoon there in the places supposed to belong to Artemis. And as no evil manifestation showed itself to him owing to Christ's protection, he returned to the chapel.

In this chapel Theodore dug and made for himself a dark cave underground beneath the step of the altar. On the night of the Feast of the Epiphany [In the Greek church the baptism of Christ in the Jordan is commemorated on the day of Epiphany, January 6th] when some of the clergy and laity had gathered round him he went down with them from the chapel to the ford of the river, and he alone entered into the water and stood there until all the reading from the prophets, apostles and Gospels was over as well as the rest of the liturgy; so that at the end of the service he could only with difficulty pull up his feet all covered with mud and icicles frozen on to them, and thus he re­entered the oratory with psalm­singing.* And when the day had dawned, he celebrated the feast and then retired to his underground pit where he lived in silence until Palm Sunday, so that all who saw and heard this raised their hands to heaven and said, 'We thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto this babe; Yea, Father, for so it was well­pleasing in Thy sight'. [Matt. 11:25]

Now his grandmother, Elpidia, truly sympathized with him and loved him more than her two daughters; and she came up to the chapel and stayed with him all the time of his silence and ministered to him and gave him a little nourishment of fruit or some vegetable salad, but this only on Saturdays and Sundays, for the other days he touched nothing at all; and this abstinence he practised until Palm Sunday.

When Theodosius, at that time bishop of the town of Anastasioupolis, heard these things about Theodore, he rejoiced about him and spoke highly of him to all men, saying that it was through the stirring of God's spirit that he accomplished such things.

(Summary) A black unclean demon causes Theodore to fall ill from cold but is turned to flight by St. George, and Theodore is restored to health. The Saint gives Theodore a promise that the wicked demon will not trouble him in future. And the merciful God 'who gave to his holy aposcles power against unclean spirits and to banish diseases' [Matt 10:1] gave to him also power against the demons to cast them out from men and to heal the sick.

After the feast of holy Easter a man appeared in the oratory one day with his only son who was troubled by an unclean spirit; and the man, emboldened by faith, besought the virtuous boy, Theodore, to heal his son. But the virtuous child of Christ did not know what he ought to do for him and indeed was greatly perplexed, for he was so young. But the father of the demoniac gave him a little whip and said to him with tears, 'Dear master, servant of Christ, take this and rebuke my child and beat him and say, "Come out, come out from this boy, you unclean demon, in the name of my Lord"'

The righteous boy did as he was told; and the demon was disturbed and began to disparage him and to call him an impostor, and if Theodore said anything to him the devil just repeated the same words, and for two days he gave him no answer at all. Then on the third day Theodore, the child of Christ, did as he had done before with the boy and the demon, now disturbed again, began to cry out; 'I am coming out, boy, I am coming out, I will not resist you, give me one hour!' Then Theodore moved away to the altar and the demon shouted out, 'Oh, the violence of the Nazarene who excites these forces against us ! for ever since He came down upon the earth He wins men against us, and now He has given authority to the son of the harlot to cast us out. Woe is me, wretch that I am, to be expelled by such a child! for I cannot withstand the grace which has been sent down upon him from heaven. Woe will come upon our kind from this harlot's action, because he will drive out many of us from men. But the dreadful thing for me is that he has made a beginning with me and I dare not return to my father the Devil, after being expelled by such a child. For if it had been done by an old man, my shame would not be great; accursed be the day on which you were born!' Whilst he was speaking Theodore, the child of God, took some oil from the lamp and touched the boy's head and with the sign of the Cross rebuked the demon saying, 'Come out then, you most wicked spirit, and do not talk so much nonsense!' And the demon with a shriek cast down the boy at his feet and went out of him. And the boy that was healed iay like a corpse, so that Theodore was in much concern and thought that he was dead. But the father said to him, 'Give him your hand, master, and raise him up. And immediately the boy came to himself and stood up, and through the grace of God Theodore restored him to his father in complete health. And this became known throughout all the neighbourhood so that all gave glory to God who bestows wisdom and grace even upon children.

(Summary) Theodore determined to imitate St. John the Baptist by living in a desert place. So he went up into the interior of the mountain and there found a rock to shelter him. He dug beneath the rock and made for himself a spacious cave. He blocked up the entry and lived there in secret. At that time some soldiers were passing through the district. When the members of his family had searched for Theodore high and low-in the oratory and everywhere else-and could not find a trace of him they came to the conclusion that he had been carried off by the soldiers, and they urged the then governor of the province to arrest the soldiers and institute an inquiry about the boy. Since they still could not find him, they thought that he had been eaten by wild beasts, and his mother, his kinsfolk and their acquaintances mourned him for a long time as though he were dead. For two years Theodore remained hidden in the cave. A single pious deacon alone knew his secret; he gave to Theodore his tunic-for before that he had worn linen clothes-and brought him the scantiest fare, water and vegetable salad. He told no one where Theodore was hidden.

(Summary) But God made his virtue known to all men. Since Theodore's kinsfolk noticed that the deacon on many different occasions went up to the mountain, they suspected that he knew where the boy was; so they called him into the house and adjured him with frightful oaths to tell them anything he knew. On account of the oaths and in fear lest Theodore should die through the violence of his mortification he disclosed to them the place. With joy they went to the mountain and brought Theodore out looking like a corpse. They carried him to the oratory of St. George. When he came into the air he fainted and did not speak for a long time. His head was covered with sores and pus, his hair was matted and an indescribable number of worms were lodged in it; his bones were all but through the flesh and the stench was such that no one could stand near him. In a word people looked on him as a second Job. His relations besought him when he had regained consciousness to come home with them to be looked after, but he would not be persuaded.

When Theodosius, the holy Bishop of Anastasioupolis, heard how Theodore had been carried half­dead out of his cave, he immediately went to him in the chapel. And when he saw him, he shuddered at the sores on his head, kissed him and ordained him 'lector' . . . And on the following day he ordained him sub­deacon and then priest, saying 'Behold, God deems you worthy to be granted, one after the other, the orders in the hierarchy of the Church, so that you can celebrate the sacred liturgy to the edification of those coming to the oratory; and may the Lord our God, the generous bestower of gifts in which He has made you to share, deem you worthy hereafter to be clothed with the office of bishop and entrusted with the care of a flock. For as you have now received the gift of these four talents* and are soon to receive the habit of a monk, you are only short of one. May God give you that one, too, after you have doubled the number of your saintly deeds. Therefore advance in faith and in the flower of virtue and pray for me' And after blessing Theodore and embracing him, he returned to his city.

Theodore, the servant of God, was only eighteen years old at that time and consequently many people found fault with the bishop saying that the ordination was invalid, since Theodore had not reached the proper age. Whereupon the holy Bishop Theodosius replied to them, 'I, too, am well aware that it appears uncanonical to some to ordain a man contrary to the rules of age and without any witnesses. For the apostle Paul says in his injunctions to Timothy: 'Not a novice lest being puffed up he fall into the condemnation and snare of the devil.' l

'But just as that same Paul judged Timothy, young as he was, worthy of a bishopric, so I too ordained this youth in the name of the Lord, and I shall never be brought to shame by his manner of life. For God assured me that he was worthy of the priesthood, and most certainly this boy is from God. Therefore do not regard his youthfulness, but regard rather the nobleness of his soul, just as Samuel was told concerning David. [! Tim 3:6] For "It is not the long­lived that are wise, nor the aged that understand judgment' [Cf. 1 Sam 16.6 sqq] 'and, again, as Elihu declared in the book of Job "But there is a spirit of God in man and it is the breath of the Almighty which teaches" [See Job 32:8-9 in LXX] and works with the young, and renders their manner of life pious and virtuous.' After the bishop had spoken thus, all were fully satisfied with his words; and Theodore, the young athlete of Christ, made progress in wisdom and spiritual understanding, and the grace of God was upon him.

Now these doings of his childhood and youth have been written by me George,* his unworthy servant and disciple; some of them I learnt from his contemporaries and school fellows, who lived and associated with him at that time and actually saw these things with their own eyes, but the majority of them I gathered from the lips of the holy and saintly man himself, when he lived alone and would narrate these things with pleasure in order to arouse in us a longing and desire for them. And I have written them after his death so that the young, through hearing of his virtuous manner of life as a child, may strive to emulate his angelic and blameless life, and be accounted worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, through the grace of Christ our God to Whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory both now and for ever, world without end [lit: to the ages of ages]. Amen.

The Lord Jesus Christ, our true God, the sun of righteousness, the ineffable light, the ever­flowing fount of immortality the life undefiled, the salvation of our souls, the giver of wisdom, inspired even me George, your sinful servant, with the passionate desire to tell, and you, my God­loving readers, with a burning longing to hear the manner of life of our great and holy father, Theodore, now among the saints, for that life until its close was supremely virtuous and crowned with miracles.

For I have been deemed worthy to narrate to you the story of his early years. And in reliance on the prayers of you all, I now venture to take up the tale afresh, and I look to God to be my guide and to bring my task to its completion.

So then Theodore, the most holy servant of God, was deemed worthy of the priesthood by our Saviour God at the age of eighteen, and with godly wisdom he strove to show himself like unto a prudent man in accordance with the Lord's appointment, praised be His name.* Thus he left his parental home which was built upon sand and all the earthly things therein, resolving within himself never to set foot in it again and in full assurance of faith he devoted himself body and so and with a sincere heart to God.

He founded his dwelling on the hallowed spot which was literally and figuratively made of rock [Matt 7:24-25], where there stood the revered oratory of the holy and glorious martyr George, in order easily to repel the attacks of alien winds* and to ward off the uprising of the flood, that came like waters in their wake. And thus with his faith firmly based on the rock of Christ and with the help of the holy martyr commemorated in the oratory he spent his time on all the God­inspired Scriptures deeming them to be the sources of eternal life.3 Most often did he ponder over the holy Gospel and he was continually pricked in heart, especially when he considered the descent from heaven of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, His incarnation and life on earth, and how He deigned to suffer and be crucified in Jerusalem, and to be buried and to rise again. Through marvelling and wondering that these things should have taken place on earth, he was seized with the desire to travel and to worship at the holy places of the Christ which His immaculate feet had trodden, and also because of the words of the prophet Zecharias, 'Every race and every tribe shall be accursed which goeth not up to worship them'. [Zech. 14:17]

And further as his mother and sister, his aunt and grandmother had come up to visit him, he bade them farewell, and finding by God's providence another willing and anxious to make the same journey, he took him as his companion and started out, forgetting all difficulties in his longing for the desired goal. When he reached Jerusalem, the ardently desired city of the holy places of Christ, he adored the Holy Cross, the place of the life­giving Resurrection, the sacred manger and the glorious place of the Ascension and all the other holy spots commemorative of the saving Passion of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He further visited all the monasteries and the various fathers confined in cells round about the city, and the hermits in the inner desert. After receiving a blessing from them he would inquire into the manner of life of each of the more earnest ones, and recorded their answers that he might imitate their example. In his wanderings he came down to the Jordan where our Saviour and God was baptized, and arrived at the neighbouring monastery of our Lady, the Mother of God, called Chouziba.* After praying and saluting the archimandrite there and the holy fathers who were with him he begged them to grant him the angelic habit of a monk. As the archimandrite had been fully instructed by God about him he invested him with the robe of a monk without hesitation or delay. Then they all joined in the prayer that Theodore might prove well­pleasing unto God and well­reputed among men. When their spiritual joy and feasting on his account had had free course, he embraced them and after receiving their approval he left the monastery and returned to his own country, Galatia, and entered the oratory of the holy martyr George. There he dwelt with great joy, his face like Moses' shining with glory and grace, and he further built himself up by fasting and sleeping Oil the ground, by vigils, and by psalm­singing; in consequence he received from God an inflow of still greater gifts of grace to strengthen him in his fight against unclean spirits and all kinds of diseases.

Now his mother minded not the things of the Lord but the things of the flesh,1 and did not feel for her son that intense longing and affection for their children which like a fire consumes some mothers. She left her most holy son, took the portion of the inheritance due to her, and was joined in marriage to a notable man, David by name, a leading citizen (protiktor) in the metropolis of Ancyra. t

But her sister, Despoinia, and her mother, Elpidia, and the Saint's sister, Blatta, could not bear to be separated from him, but rather through observing his virtuous life they strove as far as possible to imitate him, purifying and ennobling themselves by sobriety and chastity, by almsgiving and prayers. When Despoinia died she left him all her worldly goods and was buried by him in the church of the holy martyr, St. Gemellus. And his sister, Blatta, a virgin of twelve years old the most holy man took to the metropolis of Ancyra and placed her in the charge of the dedicated virgins in the convent called Petris; and after she had received the habit of a nun he dedicated her to the Lord, for she was winning many victories in her spiritual life, and then he returned to his own place. His blessed sister lived three years and then passed to her rest having borne testimony by her good works; when her most holy brother, who had also been her guide into the Kingdom, heard of her death, he sent her forth as a bride to the heavenly bridal­chamber and rejoiced in Christ. His grandmother, the blessed Elpidia, loved him exceedingly and sympathized with him, and would often come up and view his ascetic contest and glorify God who had made a rose­bearing, fruitful bough of piety to grow out of the thistles of harlotry and had raised up a child of Abraham out of useless stones. [Cf Matt 3:9] And stretching forth her hands to heaven she prayed for him that his mind should remain undisturbed and raised above material things ever giving glory to God, and that he should keep his faith 'stedfast and unmoveable' [1 Cor 15:58] unto the end.

She also left her rooms in the inn and gathering all her belongings together wanted to remain with him always in order to enjoy still greater gladness and at the same time to minister to him. However, he would not allow this, but asked her to come to the convent of St. Christopher lying to the East and there he persuaded her to remain. And the children who came to him plagued by unclean spirits he used to send to her (especially if they were girls) to receive treatment and to be taught their duties by living with her and that those who wished to remain after they were cured might be enrolled among the nuns.

And for such services as he himself required he hired a man from the neighbouring village of Kastina.

(Summary) A man, inspired by a passionate love of God, came to Theodore from the village of Spaninae and asked to be allowed to stay with him. This was granted and he became so zealous a disciple after receiving the habit of a monk that he healed a man tormented by a demon.

On another occasion a woman came from the village of Konkatis, suffering from a serious malady of the womb. She was cured by the Saint's prayers, and then left for the village of Mossyna, also called Enistratos, where her son, Philoumenus, was teacher in the children's school. Him she brought to the Saint asking that he might live with him. (There is a lacuna in the MS. towards the end of this chapter and the close of this incident is lost.)

There lived in this village (presumably Mossyna) a very excellent smith-him the holy man ordered to make a very narrow iron cage that he might enter therein and standing in it pass his days of fasting. So the men of the village impelled by faith one and all brought their agricultural tools in order that his bidding might be executed, and in this way the cage was fittingly finished for his holiness.

He wanted to take it away at once and return to his own monastery, but the men of the village begged him to leave it there until they made a second one of wood on the same pattern, and to do them the favour of passing his accustomed period of seclusion in it the following winter, so that they might have it as a protection in memory of his holiness and afterwards they would give him the iron one.

He gave the promise on these conditions; then they assembled and accompanied him with a religious procession and reestablished him in his sanctified place during the Great Week of our Saviour's Passion and afterwards returned to their own homes.

Then they made the wooden cage and in the following winter they returned with a religious procession and fetched him and escorted him to their village. And he entered into the wooden cage, which was standing in the church of St. John the Baptist, and in it he observed his fast from Christmas to Palm Sunday. On that day he came out and the inhabitants of the village formed a religious procession and carrying the iron cage accompanied him and restored him before the feast to his own place. After receiving his blessing they returned to their homes. He had the cage suspended above the cave on the face of the rock in mid­air, and ordered iron rings to be made for his feet, fifteen pounds in weight, and similar ones for his hands, and a cross with a collar of eighteen pounds weight and a belt for his loins of thirty-three pounds and an iron staff with a cross on it.

He further wished to have a very heavy corselet, and by God's foresight a man came and brought him a coat of triple mail* called a 'lorica'; weighing fifty pounds, which the saint accepted and gave thanks to God who speedily fulfils the desire of them that ask in faith. But he feared for himself because his body continued to grow more lusty, and because he was assailed by the passions of the flesh; so he invented for himself a perpetual bond of remembrance by immediately hanging the two rings round his feet and determining never to take them off but carry them with him even to the grave. When the day of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ came round on which He was born of Mary the all­Holy Virgin and Mother of God, he put on the corselet over his hair­tunic, girt on the iron belt, placed the cross round his neck, the circlets round his hands and in this guise entered into the cave practising abstinence till the 'Paralepsis';* then coming out of the cave again he went into the cage, keeping under* his body and bringing it into subjection by the confined space and by fasting, by frost and by the weight of the irons hanging round his body. By these means he humiliated and put to shame the power and the varied attacks of the enemy. He did not touch any bread at all nor even any pulse from Christmas day to Palm Sunday, his sole food was an apple or a salad of vegetables, and this only on a Saturday and Sunday.

The prescribed amount of his psalm­singing was great, so that he would rest for a while and then repeat the same Psalms over again, and the fatigue from this under wintry conditions was beyond all description. For when a snowstorm came and the wind was blowing he was shot at by the violence of the wind as with an arrow while the snow fell and often the water coming in at his neck would run down under his tunic to his feet, and his hair­garments were drenched with water. When a frost came the ice caused him no little anguish and his feet would freeze to the boards on which he stood. For from cockcrow on he forced himself not to move his feet at all from the platform on which he stood and not even to lean forward, even for a minute, against the iron railings of his cage until the evening.

So that in the earlier periods for two years when the frosts were so severe that even trees and large jars were split asunder, his feet became glued to the boards and in the evening when he pulled them up his feet were, so to say, 'stripped', as the soles of his feet remained on the boards, like sandals.

He endured this for two years, but from that time on, when his feet were held fast by the frost, his attendant would take warm water and pour it on his feet and thus the frost which held them was gradually thawed and he could move from his narrow platform.

Another time when the feast of Easter fell towards the end of the month of April, and the sun had been shining very fiercely during Lent as in summer, it happened that owing to his abstinence and the brilliant sunshine he fainted and fell down inside his cage as if dead. So Philoumenus, beloved of God, covered the cage with his cloak to make some shade for him. But when the athlete of God came to his senses and saw the garment shading the cage he was very indignant and upbraided Philoumenus severely and bade him tear it away and never do so again. Now God 'who glorifieth them who glorify Him' [1 Sam 2:30] wished to prove that it was through faith* - not from the desire to please men, but from a single­hearted devotion to God-that Theodore had been led to choose this manner of life, and of this He gave manifest witness and assurance enough to al1 since wild beasts in the presence of the Saint became quite tame and mannerly, while from him there came a stream of mighty miracles wrought amongst men.

At the beginning of his period of seclusion in the cage a most formidable bear used to come to him for three successive years and on receiving some food (eulogia) from his hand would go away quietly without doing an injury to any of the bystanders-Again, a wolf came to the entrance of his cave when he was shut up there and stood waiting. His servant, Marinus by name, went out and suddenly catching sight of the beast was terrified and ran in and told the Saint about it - but he, smiling a little, said, 'Do not be afraid, you coward, where is your manhood? for the wolf has not appeared to do you any harm but driven by a belly like yours it has come in search of food. So take this, brother, and carry it out to him so that not only in the case of men but also in that of wild beasts the commandment of God may be fulfilled which says, "Give to everyone that asketh thee' [Matt 5:42] So the servant took a piece of bread and a slice of apple from the store of food from which the Saint was wont to give presents (eulogiae) to his visitors, and going out threw only the slice of apple to the beast and tried to drive it away. The wolf seized and ate it, and then stood still again and would not budge, just as if something were still owing to it; then the servant threw the piece of bread, too, and it at once galloped off, and he went in and told his master of the impudent conduct of the animal.

(Summary) Theodore while in seclusion in the cage cleanses two lepers-one by blessing some water and pouring it over him after signing him with the sign of the Cross-the other, a priest named Epiphanius, known as Kollouras, from the village of Dioskonis, by lending him his tunic to wear.

(Summary) Elpidia the blessed, Theodore's grandmother, was utterly filled with all joy and delight at his virtuous mode of life and at the shining glory of his miracles She had carefully provided everything necessary for the support of the women under her care; some had renounced this world, others were ill, and she had already created a very fine convent. She now came to the days in which she was to die and during this time because of an intense longing for him, but still more because she somehow foreknew that it would be a farewell visit, she stayed closely by him, praying with him and singing with him . . . Later after a slight illness she passed away peacefully in her sleep and was buried by Theodore with due honour.

(Summary) A man came from the metropolis of Ancyra and brought the news of the death of the Saint's mother, Mary, so that he might send and receive her dowry, as she had died childless; Theodore did not pay even the slightest attention to this but said to the messenger, 'You are lying and not speaking the truth; for my mother has not died'. On the other's insisting on the fact that he had seen it with his own eyes he again replied to him, 'I told you that you are not speaking the truth; for my mother has not died and is not dying; Heaven forbid! but she is present with me and is alive and will remain with me for ever'. And he continued to give no more thought to the matter; but he made supplication to God on her behalf, while E fasting for a week, imploring Him to grant her forgiveness for; her failings.

One day the treasurer of the holy church of the town of Heliopolis, Theodore by name (also called Tzoutzus) came when the Saint was in seclusion shut up in his cave, and through his servant he unfolded the following story to him with many tears. 'Have pity on me, oh servant of God, for the tragedy which has befallen me! I sent my elder son to collect the church­taxes from the villages and he has taken the whole sum and made off! and though I have run about and searched for him everywhere I have not been able to find him. I therefore implore your holiness to pray to God to restore him to me, because all my substance is insufficient to pay back to the Church the large sum he has taken.'

And the holy man sent this reply to him, 'If you will agree that when he is found you will not give him a beating nor compel him to give up more money than the amount he stole God will be entreated and will restore your son to you; but if you will not consent to this, he will not be restored to you.' Then the father agreed to these terms on oath and said, 'If you bid me, I will also give him some of my own money, if only I receive the dues belonging to the Church which he has taken, so that I or my children may not be made destitute by repaying them.

Then the holy man prayed to the Lord to hold up the man who had committed the theft in whatsoever place he might be and to make known with all speed where he would be found. And the Saint sent a message to the father saying, 'Go and stay at home and do not worry nor be anxious about him - for I trust in God to restore him to you soon if you carry out what you have promised.

The man believed him, since several times before he had received assurance of his miraculous powers, and went home with joy, regarding the Saint's promise as a pledge that could not fail.

Now the holy man's prayer reached the son in a place close to the city of Nicaea and did not allow him to depart thence, but he kept wandering about in a circle in that one place and never got any further, though he seemed to himself to have travelled a long way. In that same place there happened to be some men who knew him and the treasurer and had already heard talk of what had happened, so when they recognized him and saw the senseless way in which he was walking they asked him many times where he came from, and where he was going. Finding that he gave contradictory answers they laid hold on him, and sent word to the treasurer. The latter came and took the stolen gold away from him and returned to the holy man giving thanks to God.

A woman once came with her husband from the village of Kalpinus during the days of Lent and she was being evilly treated by a demon. When the Saint rebuked the demon, the latter cried out saying, 'Oh ! violence I do not be angry with me, iron­eater,* servant of the Most High, do not send me away into the fire of punishment. For it is not I who am guilty, for I entered into this woman against my will, at the command of one Theodotus, surnamed Kourappus, of the village of Mazamia'. The servant of Christ said to him, 'Behold, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, not to trouble her in her works from now on until she comes back here again'. The demon became quiet and then the Saint told the man to take his wife and go back home and gather in their crops and afterwards return to him. They did as he ordered, went home, secured their summer crops and their vintage and then went back again. As they entered into the church of the Archangel and saw the Saint's face, the demon began to torture the woman savagely; her husband declared on oath saying that she had not been troubled by the demon at all from the day that he received the Saint's command until that moment. They stayed there one week and as the demon could not bear the rebukes of him who was truly a worker of miracles, he cast the woman down at the feet of the Saint and went out of her. The woman was quite cured and departed with her husband for her home in great joy.

On another occasion in the village of Mazamia, which lies on the Upper Siberis in the territory of Mnezine, a large swarm of locusts appeared about June and covered the district like a cloud and ate up the summer crops and the fruit of the vineyards. When the villagers saw this terrible scourge, which had come upon them, having heard of the miracles wrought by the Saint they came to him in a religious procession, threw themselves at his feet and besought him to come and by his acceptable prayers free them from this ill which was afflicting them. He accordingly went with them and lodged in their Catholic church of St. Irenicus (for he was ever wont to lodge in a church). On the morrow he led a religious procession to the plain and ordered the villagers to stand in a certain place and pray to the Lord for mercy. He himself took three locusts in his hand and stood praying to the Lord about them. And whilst he prayed the three locusts died in his hand; then after giving thanks to the Lord he said to the people, 'Let us return to the church, children; for the Lord will speedily show His mercy in our midst'. And so, having recited the holy liturgy, they returned to the church of St. Irenicus. On the morrow the villagers went out to the plain and found every locust dead; and they glorified God.

But he that is ever envious of good deeds and the doers thereof and of the servants of Christ aroused in Theodotus, a t special vessel of his, envy at this miracle and the determination J to kill the holy miracle­workers.

Theodotus dwelt in the same village as the Saint and was a skilled sorcerer, thoroughly versed in wickedness. The Evil One did not know that not only would he fail in his projected plan and be put to shame, but would also be punished by being deprived of his instrument of wickedness. Theodotus had seen the miracle of the locusts performed by the Saint, and he also remembered how the demon who served him had shortly before been cast out of the woman. He himself had put the demon into the woman, and the demon after his expulsion had returned to him. Thus incited by the enemy who haunted him and inflamed by the malice of his attendant demon he sent his envoys to attack the Saint and, if possible, so to injure him that he should die.

Those who were sent did not dare even to show themselves to him face to face whilst he was awake but waited for his hour of sleeping; and then stealthily, like thieves, they sought to attack him-thieves indeed they were and powerless to harm him openly.

But the divine power which guarded him routed them; however the bolder in wickedness among them had the effrontery once more to draw near to him to wreak their wickedness and again the grace of God like a fire issuing from him scorched them and drove them away. After they had assaulted him several times seeking to do him injury and had always suffered in the same way, they at last returned shamefacedly to the man who sent them. He questioned them why they had returned without accomplishing anything and taunted them, 'Why, your power is nothing', he said, 'since you were not strong enough to approach and put your spell upon him even when he was asleep, how then are you going in future to meet him face to face?' The envoys retorted, 'We are more anxious than you to prove ourselves able and invincible in the missions on which you send us; but when we tried to approach him, a great flame of fire issued from his mouth-not natural fire which we despise-but divine fire which lives in him-and we were scorched; that is why we came back with nothing done. We attacked him, too, through his food and drink, but the blessing which he always says over it made all our power to harm him of no effect.'

Meanwhile Theodotus, still greatly vexed in spirit by his defeat, became yet more infuriated. With great skill he inserted a deadly poison into a fish and charged some other agents of his to see to it that the Saint should eat the fish. But when the Saint through the grace of God and through the blessing which he said over the fish did not take any harm then indeed Theodotus was ashamed at the failure of his murderous designs and reflected upon the weakness of demons and the power of God which is so great and marvellous that it prevails even over demons and poisons and locusts. Becoming sober after the intoxication which was the devil's work, he came to a recognition of God and went and threw himself at the Saint's feet, wailing and weeping and begging to obtain mercy. But the Saint questioned him to learn the reason of his lamentations and supplication, whereupon he then related to him in detail the story of his plottings and the answers of the demons and also revealed to him the diabolic craft he possessed to the hurt of many souls, and implored the Saint both to release him from it and also to grant him holy baptism. And the Saint replied, 'If you wish to be received by God and deemed worthy of pardon from Him for these doings, then first of all make a full confession of all your deeds, and if you still have any book of magic bring it forth. Then loose from the spell of your magic every person whom you have bewitched and every house or beast or anything else, whatsoever it be, and in future never put a spell on anyone but devote yourself to repentance; and I will implore God to grant you forgiveness for your past sins. For God receives those who repent for "He willeth that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." [Tim 2:4] And the magician promised and swore that he would fulfil all the Saint's behests; he brought all his books of magic and burnt them in Theodore's presence and asked to be baptized. After the Saint had given him instruction and cleansed him by fastings and works of charity he gave him the bath of incorruption, [Cf. Titus 3:5] and thus added him to the ninety and nine sheep that had not strayed, and by this act proved himself one who put into practice the teaching of James, the Lord's brother, for 'he converted the sinner from the error of his way and saved his soul from death and covered a multitude of sins'. [Jam 5:20]

After the Saint had returned to his monastery, it happened that he fell so ill of a desperate sickness that he saw the holy angels coming down upon him; and he began to weep and to be sorely troubled. Now above him there stood an icon of the wonder­working saints Cosmas and Damian. These saints were seen by him looking just as they did in that sacred icons and they came close to him, as doctors usually do; they felt his pulse and said to each other that he was in a desperate state as his strength had failed and the angels had come down from heaven to him. And they began to question him saying, 'Why are you weeping and are sore troubled, brother?' He answered them, 'Because I am unrepentant, sirs, and also because of this little flock which is only newly­instructed and is not yet stablished and requires much care.' They asked him, 'Would you wish us to go and plead for you that you may be allowed to live for a while?' He answered, 'If you do this, you would do me a great service, by gaining for me time for repentance and you shall win the reward of my repentance and my work from henceforth.' Then the saints turned to the angels and besought them to grant him yet a little time while they went to implore the King on his behalf. They agreed to wait. So the saints departed and entreated on his behalf the heavenly King, the Lord of life and death, Christ our God, Who granted unto Hezekiah the King an addition unto his life of fifteen years. [2 kings 20:6] They obtained their request and came back to the Saint bringing with them a very tall young man, like in appearance to the angels that were there, though differing from them greatly in glory. He said to the holy angels, 'Depart from him, for supplication has been made for him to the Lord of all and King of glory, and He has consented that he should remain for a while in the flesh'. Straightway both they and the young man disappeared from his sight, going up* to heaven. But the Saints, Cosmas and Damian, said to the Saint, 'Rise up brother, and look to thyself and to thy flock; for our merciful Master Who readily yields to supplication has received our petition on your behalf and grants you life to labour for "the meat which perisheth not, but endureth to everlasting life" [John 6:27] and to care for many souls.' With these words they, too, vanished.

Theodore immediately regained his health and strength;* the sickness left him and glorifying God he resumed his life of abstinence and the regular recital of the psalms with still greater zeal and diligence.

Through the grace bestowed on him by God Theodore continued to work many miracles against every kind of illness and weakness, but especially did he make supplications to God for aid against unclean spirits; hence, if he merely rebuked them, or even sent them a threat through another,* they would immediately come out of people. Some persons were so profoundly impressed by these miracles that they left their homes, journeyed to him, and entering upon a life of contemplation Joined the monastery; others again who had obtained healing would not leave him but stayed with him, giving him such service as he needed.

Now since the oratory of the holy martyr George was small* and could not contain those who recited the offices as well as those who stayed with the Saint and others* who came up to pray, he built on its right hand side a very fine house (dedicated to Michael, the holy commander­in­chief of the angels) which was comfortable both in winter and summer; on its left it had a small oratory dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and one on the right dedicated to the most blessed Mother of God, the ever­virgin Mary. In this house he ordained that the community of Brothers should officiate in order that both those who were waiting either to be healed of an illness, or for the expulsion of evil spirits, and those who had come up to pray, might rest awhile in the hallowed church of the Archangel which was open day and night, and listen to the service and join in the prayers and find healing.

(Summary) Theodore send s his fellow­worker, Philoumenus, to the bishop of Anastasioupolis to be ordained priest and abbot of the monastery in order that Theodore might be freed from the cares and toils of the office.

As through the grace of God the size of the holy and venerable monastery was greatly increased, a need was felt for holy vessels of silver (for the existing ones were of marble); so the holy Theodore sent his archdeacon to the capital, Constantinople, to buy a chalice and a paten of silver for the service of the immaculate mysteries. The archdeacon went and bought from a silversmith a pure and well­finished vessel, so far as concerned the quality of the silver and the workmanship, and he brought it back to the monastery.

Before the celebration of Communion on the morrow, the archdeacon brought the chalice and paten into the vestry, uncovered it to show it to the Saint and to use it for the Oblation. But when the Saint looked at them he recognized through his gift of discernment the manner of their use and their defect, and condemned them as being useless and defiled. But the archdeacon, who looked at the appearance and not at that which was hidden, pointed out the perfect and well­wrought workmanship and the quality proved by the five­fold stamp upon it and thought by these facts to convince the Saint. But the Saint said, 'I know, yes, I know, son, that so far as eyes can see it appears a beautiful specimen of craftsmanship and the worth of the silver is evident from the stamps on it, but it is another, an invisible cause, which defiles it. I fancy the defilement comes from some impure use. But if you doubt it, pronounce the verse for our prayers and be convinced.' Then whilst the archdeacon chanted the verse of Invocation, the Saint bent his head in prayer, and after he had filled the chalice, the chalice and the paten turned black as silver* does when it leaves the fire of the oven. The brothers, seeing this, glorified God who made invisible things visible at the hands of His servant. When the archdeacon took them and locked them up they appeared once more as pure silver; then he returned to Constantinople and gave them back to the dealer in silver and told him the reason. The latter made inquiries of his manager* and his silversmith who fashioned the vessels, and found out that they came from the chamber­pot of a prostitute; he told the archdeacon the blunder that had been made and begged him to pray that he might be forgiven for his mistake, at the same time marvelling at the Saint's foreknowledge. He gave him other pure and very beautiful vessels and these the archdeacon carried to the holy servant of God, and reported to him and to the brothers the cause of defilement in the earlier vessels, and they all gave thanks unto God.

In the village of Buzaea, which belonged to the city of Kratianae, the inhabitants wanted to build a bridge over the torrent which ran through it, as the latter often became swollen by many streams and could not be crossed. They hired workmen and when the work had almost reached completion and only a few stone slabs were still needed to finish it the workmen at the Devil's instigation went to a certain hill not far off and dug out some slabs from it on the excuse, vas some said, that they were needed for their work; but the majority said that they had stolen away a treasure that was hidden there. Then there issued from the place where they had dug for the stones a host of unclean spirits; some of them entered into sundry men and women of the village and afflicted them savagely, others again brought illnesses upon the remaining inhabitants, while yet others hung about the roads and the neighbourhood and did injury to beasts and travellers; hence great misery arose in the village and despair at the misfortunes in their homes and in the countryside. Then they bethought themselves of Theodore, the servant of God, and by prayers in his name they tried to exorcize the unclean spirits when they showed signs of activity, and they found that the spirits showed no little fear when his name was uttered over them, and became docile and were reduced to subjection. With all speed, therefore, they made for the monastery and by dint of many supplications they persuaded him to come with them. When Theodore drew nigh to the village the spirits which were afflicting men felt his presence and met him howling out these words: 'Oh violence! Why have you come here, you ironeater,* why have you quitted Galatia and come into Gordiane? There was no need for you to cross the frontier. We know why you have come, but we shall not obey you as did the demons of Galatia ­ for we are much tougher than they and not milder.' When he rebuked them they at once held their peace. On the morrow all the inhabitants were gathered together, and those possessed by evil spirits surrounded the Saint who had ordered a procession of supplication* to be formed which went right round the village and came to the hill from which they said the demons had come out. Then he tortured them by the divine grace of Christ and by the sign of the holy Cross and by beatings on his chest, and after offering up prayers for a long time he bade them come out of the people and return to their own abode. They uttered loud shouts and tore the garments which covered the sufferers and threw them down at his feet and then came out of them. But one very wicked spirit which was in a woman resisted and would not come out. Then the Saint caught hold of the woman's hair and shook her violently and rebuked the spirit by the sign of the Cross and by prayer to God and finally said, 'I will not give way to you nor will I leave this spot until you come out of her !' Then the spirit began to shriek and say, 'Oh violence, you are burning me, iron­eater! I am coming out, I will not resist you, only give us something that you are wearing'. The Saint loosed a sandal from his foot and threw it into the hole in the hill whence they had entered into people and straightway the spirit hurled* the woman down at the feet of the Saint and came out of her.

Then the Saint halted again and prayed to the Lord that He would drive together all the spirits, which were still remaining in the neighbourhood and in the roads to the injury of travellers, and would shut them up once more in the place from which they came out. And through the grace of God they were all collected, and to some who saw them they looked like flying blue­bottles or hares or dormice, and they entered into the place where the stones had been dug out, which the Saint then sealed with prayer and the sign of the Cross, and bade the men fill up the hole and restore it as it was before. He then led the procession back to the village, and from that time on that place and the inhabitants of the village and all the neighbourhood remained safe from harm to the glory of Christ our God, the prime author of healings.

And the Saint returned and came to his monastery.

(Summary) Theodore is asked to go to Herakleia in the province of Pontus to pray in the church of the Virgin in Herakleia.* Theodore similarly frees the house of Theodore Latzeas, a distinguished landed proprietor, from demons who had come out of an excavation made in his house and had thus caused great suffering in the family and in the city as well. In Herakleia and on his return journey he performed many miracles of healing.

On another occasion, as great mortality was occurring among men and oxen in the metropolis of Ancyra, leading citizens (protiktores) of that metropolis came to the monastery to the servant of God and took him and led him away to their city. Some among them had daughters who were nuns in the convent of the Holy Mother of God, called Beeia and they besought the Saint to bless and strengthen their daughters in their faith; and they persuaded him to lodge there and to pray for them.

The Saint appointed a day of supplication when the whole city and neighbourhood assembled and he went in procession with them and offered prayers to God and thus released them from the plague which held them in its grip; and to stay the deaths among the oxen he blessed water for sprinkling over the cattle and thus freed them, too, from death. The inhabitants of the city thereupon gave thanks to God and accompanied the Saint to his monastery.

The river Siberis, as it ran through the village of Sykeon near the monastery, passed close by the cornfields and was undermining the arable land and little by little was carrying away much of the soil; so the Saint, trusting fully in God, came and ordered the river in the name of Christ to change its bed and no longer approach the cornfields. After planting a wooden cross and offering a prayer, by the grace of God he induced the river to quit those fields. In the same river several men had met a violent death when crossing it, so this ever-memorable man went right into the middle of the river at the spot where the accident had occurred and by offering fervent prayer to God he, by the mercies of Christ, made the river, from that time forth, always safe and easy to cross.

A boy, called Arsinus, who had an unclean spirit and suffered terribly was brought to him from a monastery. The Saint received him but was not anxious to cure him quickly as he said that such chastisement was beneficial to him for some time. When the boy was fully grown up he begged the Saint s to ask God that he, too, might be cured as all the others were . who came to the Saint. The Saint replied, 'If you will agree to adopt a good and strictly disciplined mode of life your request shall be fulfilled and you shall very soon be deemed worthy of healing'. And Arsinus agreed to these conditions. As the servant of Christ wished to go and inspect the convent of the holy martyr Christopher, he took Arsinus with him. And when they reached the deep valley of the Xerorruax, thinking that in this place the proper time had come, the Saint stood and prayed to God concerning him. And as the demon was disturbed he began to suffer and was actually raised from the ground,* and while Arsinus was hanging in the air the demon wailed and said, 'I am coming out, iron­eater, only release me and I will go out at once'. And as the demon said this he suddenly saw that Christ's holy martyr, Christopher, was also present, coming to meet Christ's servant; so he howled more loudly and tore the boy grievously and dashed him down at the Saint's feet and went out of him. And when Arsinus came to himself Theodore took him with him and went to the convent of the martyr Christopher. There by his prayers and by his admonitions and strict precepts he fortified the nuns who dwelt in the convent, and he encouraged them to lead a holy life-a life befitting their vows with fear towards God and modesty toward man. For great fear of him came upon them.

After Theodore had returned from this convent to his own monastery Arsinus obtained a small cell from him in which he shut himself up, living in perpetual seclusion, and every third day eating some bread and a few vegetables or pulse and drinking water, while in Lent he ate the same food but only on Saturdays and Sundays. There were two others, Evagrius and Andreas, who adopted this severe mode of life, living each in his own small cell near Arsinus and striving earnestly to accomplish the salvation of their souls so that the great servant of God shared their joy and prayed over them and glorified God. After some years the idea entered their hearts to travel to the Holy City and worship at the holy places there; and as the three were of one mind about this they fell at the feet of the most holy Theodore begging him not to forbid their desire but to dismiss them with his blessing. They were dismissed and went off and offered their prayers and Evagrius decided to remain there; he entered the Laura of Mar Saba, lived a life of virtue there and showed by his deeds that he was a disciple of the inspired and holy father, Theodore.

But Arsinus and Andreas turned to Galatia to the most holy Saint and begged him to give them his permission with his blessing to go away and live in seclusion in different places by themselves. He offered prayers for them and gave his approval of their purpose, and then they started, each to a place which gave him satisfaction. Andreas settled eight miles from the monastery on the hill by the village Brianeia, and there lived a strict and virtuous life; he also made a wooden cage and suspended it in the air and remained shut up in it from Christmas day to Palm Sunday, and he continued the same self­discipline which he had practised in the monastery.

Arsinus, on the other hand, went up to the country Lying round the upper reaches of the river Siberis and came to the village of Galenae; he found a place to his liking outside the village, which was a haunt of demons and was eager to stay there. So he stood and prayed to God saying, 'Oh Lord, the God of my father Theodore, save me, a sinner, through his prayers and help me in my endeavours and my strivings to please Thee in this place'. And straightway he confined himself in a wooden cage and passed that winter in it; afterwards he built a very lofty column and went up on to it, and continued to practise his usual abstinence and every form of virtuous self-discipline. After he had persevered therein for forty years and bound on his brows the crown of endurance as a worthy disciple of Christ's servant, Theodore, he fell peacefully asleep.

There were many others, torwho had been instructed by the holy miracle­worker, our father Theodore, and were adorned with every virtue; some of these died after passing their life near him, while others let their light shine in divers other places. Of these one was Reparatus, the son of high­born parents, who entered the monastic order after being prepared for it by Theodore's encouragement and counsels and by the convincing evidence of many miracles. Then he was instructed in works by him, and by him was bidden to settle in a small cell in the village of Kolonosos in Lycaonia, where he lived a very godly life in imitation of his teacher. Another was Elpidius who after some years' instruction in the monastery, having conducted himself there in seemly fashion, went away later to the East near Mount Sinai and there dwelt in seclusion practising strict self­denial until his death; because of his seclusion and his piety the fathers in those parts nicknamed Elpidius 'Hesychos' (or 'the secluded one').

Leontius who lived in retirement near the village of Permataia had also been instructed for some years by the all­holy servant of Christ; he followed so fair and virtuous a rule of life that he was occasionally deemed worthy of the grace of prophecy, and foretold the invasion of the lawless Persians which took place later. He said that he himself would be killed by them; and this actually occurred, because he refused to leave his cell and interrupt his seclusion; so he died a martyr's death.

And Theodore who practised strict virtue on the hill of Dracon was instructed by him and took the habit; later he became the abbot of the monastery of Saint Autonomus.* Stephen again, the abbot of the monastery of St. Theodore* near the river Psilis, was a pupil of his and had been judged worthy by him of taking the habit (of monk); he also lived a life of virtue. And very many others there were, though because of their number I pass them over in silence, for I do not wish by lingering over an account of their doings, to shorten, and thus leave incomplete, the eagerly desired story of their and our great shepherd. (Close of chapter omitted.)

A great longing seized Theodore to travel to the Holy City, Jerusalem; so he took two brethren and started on his journey. At that time there was a great drought in Jerusalem and all men were straitened because the pits and cisterns were dried up; for the city itself and the neighbouring monasteries collect the water for their needs from the rain which falls from the houses and then conduct it into pits and cisterns because there are no natural springs or fountains. Consequently the lives of all, both of men and beasts, were endangered by this lack of water, and though they made supplications they did not gain their request, as God was evidently reserving this favour to redound to the praise of his great servant.

Now it happened that some men from Galatia were there who knew this great servant of God and the miracles worked by him, and they spoke about him in the Holy City and in the monasteries to those they chanced to meet and said, 'We have a holy father in our country who by one single prayer can fill the whole world with rain to the full, as Elijah, the prophet, did in the time of Ahab, King of Israel'.

When the Saint reached Jerusalem and had adored the life-bestowing Cross and worshipped in the Church of Christ's Holy Resurrection and had gone round to all the sacred places in the city and to the monasteries, the monks, who had already proclaimed his miracle­working way of life, when they had seen him, now talked about his presence both in the City and the monasteries. And so priests sent by the Patriarch as well as monks and the most illustrious citizens came to him and besought him to propitiate God on their behalf by his prayers, that He might send them rain. However, he asked to be excused, pleading that he was unworthy of so great an honour, but they declared that they believed that, if only he would join in prayer with the other fathers, they would certainly be deemed worthy of the gift of rain. And he said to them 'Now, t as you say you believe, so shall it be for you'. :

And he bade them order a procession with prayer and he said to those taking part in the procession who had changed into their best clothes,* 'Take off these garments, children, that they may not get drenched through and you be vexed in spirit thereat; for I say unto you that according to your faith God will speedily show his mercy on your behalf'. So they went in procession and halted for prayer at a certain spot by the Saint's command, and there he spread out his hands to heaven and prayed to the Lord for a long time. Whilst he prayed a small rain­bearing cloud appeared coming up from the West; and when he had finished his prayer and had bidden them turn homewards, the sky grew black with clouds and the rain began to come down in torrents so that they returned at a run and their clothes were soaked, and thus the procession ended with hymns of praise to God. So through the virtue of the prayer offered to God by His servant the rains spread over the country like a river, and all the pits and cisterns were filled.

But in order to avoid being troubled by the crowd when this miracle became noised abroad, he quickly left the City and returned to his monastery.

Similar wonders to this he performed during a time of great drought in other places also which were not far from the monastery.

In a village called Reake a threatening cloud would periodically appear suddenly over the countryside and pour down hail­stones upon the vineyards, when the fruit was ripe; and 'the men of the village were in great distress as they had not been able to enjoy the fruits of their husbandry for several years. Accordingly they came to the monastery and entreated the blessed man and brought him back with them to their village. He formed a procession of supplication and they went round the vineyard and the fields and, after offering prayer, he placed four wooden crosses at the four angles of the boundary line and after doing this returned to the monastery and through his holy prayer that threatening cloud never overshadowed that village again. In return for this benefit the men of the village from that time to the present day yearly bring to the monastery a fixed measure of wine and grapes of various kinds.

Omitted as being similar to ch. 45.-Here the river Kopas is forbidden to encroach on the village of Karuas.

At that time Tiberius of pious memory was ruling over the empire, and after appointing Maurice, the Chartularius, as general he sent him to the East to the Persian war to fight against them. And after Maurice had defeated them he was , ordered by the Emperor to return to the capital. As he was passing through the districts of Galatia he heard talk about the servant of Christi (These were the days of the blessed man's abstinence and' he was in seclusion in his cave.)

Maurice went up with his brother Peter and his attendants and fell at the Saint's feet and begged him to pray for them that their journey to the Emperor might have a happy issue. The blessed and glorious man bade him stand up and prayed to God for him, as if by divine revelation he said to Maurice, 'My son, if you bear in mind to pray to the holy martyr George, you will shortly learn to what glorious post in the Empire you are called; only, when you reach those heights be sure to remember the needs of the poor'. When Maurice asked to know precisely what dignity he meant to which he should be called, the Saint led him apart from his companions and told him plainly that he would become emperor.

After Maurice and all the men with him had received the Saint's blessing he left with joy and reached Constantinople.

And according to the Saint's prophecy Maurice succeeded to the imperial throne on the death of Tiberius, and remembering Theodore's words he sent him a letter asking him to pray for him and for his Empire that it might be preserved in T peace and untroubled by enemies and bade him make any request he liked.

The blessed man sent the most blessed Philoumenus, the abbot, to the Emperor and also wrote a letter in order to secure some small gift of food for the monastery to meet the needs of the poor who looked to them for support. On receiving the letter the Emperor made a grant to the monastery of 200 modii of corn annually, and sent it to him together with a chalice and a paten.

(The fame of Theodore spreads ever more widely and the monastery continuously gains new recruits.)

When the blessed man saw the vast crowds that assembled and realized that the chapel of St. George was too small, he gave the rest of the money he had inherited to build a church worthy of the holy martyr George with three apses and an oratory on the right dedicated to the holy martyr Plato.*

A trench was being dug for the foundations of the building which was to be set apart for the catechumens and dedicated to the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus.* This lay higher up the hill. The workmen had blasted several rocks with fire and vinegar and then rolled them down (the land being uncultivated and rocky), when they happened to come across one enormous rock which they got out and tried to roll down into the garden behind the apse: but it stuck in one place and could not be moved in any way. After a large number of workmen had tried hard for a long time and yet could not move it, the servant of God hearing about it came to the place, touched the rock and said, 'Blessed Lord, move it away from here further down, for we need this space', and at once at his words it moved and began rolling down at a violent pace. Now right in its course stood an apple tree, and as it was likely to be caught by the rock the blessed man was grieved at heart and cried out, 'Go to one side of the tree and do not do it any harm !' And immediately, like an intelligent person, the rock bent aside from its attack on the tree, and passed it by without hurting it.

Again, at the place called Arkea, which we have spoken of before (ch. 16), the men of the village of Euarzia, eight miles from the monastery, had burnt unslaked lime for the building of the church; then they loaded the lime on their own wagons and on many others that had come to help from the neighbouring villages, and the saintly God­inspired man was also present. They had started and were making for the holy monastery; when they were about half way, they were overshadowed by a large cloud. From it there fell a heavy shower of rain. The farmers were terrified and desperate, thinking that their wagons and oxen would be burnt by the lime because of the downpour of rain. As the Saint was walking behind them they began to shout to him at the top of their voices saying, 'Quick, master, we and our beasts are threatened with death', and they began with all haste to unharness the beasts from the wagons. But the Saint caught them up and prevented their unyoking the oxen from the wagons. Standing and stretching up his hands to God he prayed; then he mounted on the leading wagon and sat down and went on his way singing psalms. And immediately the cloud was split in two, and it rained to the left and to the right of their road, so that the water from both sides ran underneath the wagons, but above them not even a single drop of rain fell; in this wise they were saved and reached the holy monastery glorifying God Who works marvels through His servant.

(Summary) The church is completed and Theodore foretells that a bishop of that same place* will dedicate it, God intending to grant to Theodore a yet further sign of his favour by making him a bishop.

After the death of Timotheug the Bishop of Anastasioupolis, the clergy and the land­owners living in that town went to the metropolis Ancyra to the most blessed Archbishop, Paul, and asked him to appoint the great servant of God, Theodore, the archimandrite of the monastery of Sykeon, as bishop of their most Holy Church. Paul was greatly pleased at their excellent choice and gave them permission to fetch the Saint. (Now it was the time when he gave himself to prayer and he was shut up in seclusion in his cave.) So when the clergy and landowners of Anastasioupolis reached the monastery they went up to the cave and begged him to give himself to them as their shepherd; however, he absolutely refused to listen to their request and would not yield himself to their wish; so they resorted to more forcible means and fetched him out of his cave and placed him in a litter and carried him off. The monks of the monastery and all those who were staying there grieved and lamented at his being separated from them, so the Saint sent them a message by a brother saying, 'Do not be in any way cast down, children, for believe me I shall certainly never forsake you; for nothing on earth shall separate me from my life with you'. When he reached the metropolis, Ancyra, the most blessed Archbishop Paul received him with joy and ordained him bishop and gave him much encouragement, telling him how someone in Anastasioupolis at that time had seen in a vision a very large and radiant star coming from heaven and standing above their church, shining and casting its light over the town and all the surrounding countryside. On leaving the metropolis of Ancyra holy Theodore went to Anastasioupolis with the most holy bishop of the town of Kinna by whom he was enthroned.

Like the star that had been seen he continued to cast his light over the city through his divine gifts of healings, his continual fastings, his hymns of praise to God, and his generosity to those in want; in a word, through all his virtues and good deeds he exalted the renown of the city which had welcomed him, inspiring in the citizens such a virtuous activity that their city became the envy and the admiration of other towns and thus it really proved its right to its name of 'Resurrection' (Anastasis). It was fittingly entitled the city of Anastasius (Anastasioupolis); it rose to fame not from its fortifications and the embellishment of imperial gifts: not from the size of its population or from the exceeding wealth and power of its prosperous inhabitants, but rather because it was enriched by such deeds of the inspired man as we have described and on account of these deeds it was fortified not by men alone-it was its fortune to be ruled and inhabited also by angels, and to be always under the oversight and guardianship of the heavenly King Christ. It was upon these that its courage and its victories were based.

(Summary) Theodore consecrates the church which he had built to the holy martyr George amid scenes of great rejoicing. He then returned to Anastasioupolis where he worked many miracles, the sick would be brought on beds for him to touch them; and such was the grace bestowed on the Saint by our Lord Jesus Christ that if he merely rebuked evil spirits, or often even if he only sent his rebuke through a messenger* they would immediately hasten to leave their victims.

(Summary) Another time when the Saint was in seclusion in the chapel of St. Plato and had given orders that no woman should be admitted, a man came to the church with his wife who was afflicted by a demon and quite beyond control. She broke the candelabra in the church. A servant came and told the Saint about the woman. He had laid down as a rule for himself that standing or sitting he should not leave a narrow platform.* He gave to his servant some consecrated oil with which to anoint the forehead, hands and ears and bade him command the demon to depart and it did so. The woman was never after possessed by the demon.

Although many such miracles were daily wrought by the Saint through the grace of God abiding in him, a certain deacon of the cathedral in Anastasioupolis, called Dometianus, disbelieved in them and was not a little sceptical and was offended in him. Now one day, a Sunday, a man from the metropolis of Ancyra came to the Saint and brought his son who was dumb.

As they arrived at the time of the administration of the Holy Communion in the Catholic church of the Holy Wisdom they went up to participate; and when the boy yawned, the Saint said to him, 'Say Amen, child!' and the child immediately obeyed him and pronounced the 'Amen'. The father began with a loud voice to glorify God and to proclaim the wonder that had been wrought. Whilst all present were amazed and singing praises to God the Archdeacon Dometianus suddenly fell to the ground. Some of the clergy rushed forward and lifted him up; he was all trembling, so they asked what had happened to him. And he answered them as follows: 'When the boy pronounced the "Amen", and the father cried out that he had been freed from dumbness, I did not believe that he spoke the truth but thought he was falsely claiming for the Saint a fraudulent glory and then I saw as it were a flame of fire come out of the child's mouth.' After saying this he was supported and led to the Saint, at whose feet he fell and besought him to offer prayers for him so that the power and wrath of the Devil which had issued from the boy might not come to him. After the Saint had heard the whole tale, he said to the deacon, 'This has happened to you, my son, because you cherish some unbelief in your heart about the gift of Christ which is shown in healings; but cast it aside, "be thou faithful and not unbelieving'' [John 22:27]. For it is not we, but our good God, Who even now works these miracles (whatever they may be) so that we may not have any excuse for saying that He has shown no sign in our time, and that through beholding these miracles we may also believe in those which took place before us in the lifetime of the saints and thus increase in faith and serve God wholeheartedly.' After the blessed man had spoken thus, the deacon himself confessed his unbelief and when the Saint had prayed for him he was freed from his shuddering and his fear and continued in health and from henceforth he would come to the Saint in complete confidence.

(Summary) Theodore visits Jerusalem for the third time having as his companions on the journey John, the archdeacon from his own monastery, and Martinus from the village of Dougaia, out of which he had cast a legion of devils. He decides not to return to his own country but to spend his life in one of the monasteries in Jerusalem, for he thought that, since he had been absorbed in the cares and administration of his bishopric, he had fallen away from the monastic standard.

(Summary) He goes to the monastery of Mar Saba and lives in the cell of a brother named Andreas; when the time for his period of seclusion came round, Andreas made him a seat and on that he sat without rising from Christmas to Palm Sunday. After Easter his companions urge him to return to his bishopric, but he refuses to leave the monastery. St. George appears to him in a vision and bids him start at once for Galatia; Theodore seeks to resign his bishopric but St. George promises him that, if he returns, he will shortly free him from his burden as bishop, only he must not desert his palace, nor leave his flock without tendance. On waking Theodore obeys and returns to Anastasioupolis.

(Summary) On his return journey with two disciples they reach the monastery of Druinoi in Galatia and enter it to rest there. Anicetus, the guest­master, is curious about the father's identity which the disciples had been forbidden to reveal. However, by an incautious remark made by Theodore himself at dinner, 'In truth children, we have eaten like Galatians', the secret can no longer be kept. The abbot hears the news with joy and at the night service he and all his monks join in procession with lighted candles to meet him at the door of the oratory of St. Paul and fall at his feet and then welcome him warmly. They prepare a feast for him and ask him to stay with them and rest from his journey for several days. This he consents to do on condition that he may be 'bedmaker' during his stay.

(Summary) The news of his being in the monastery soon spread and many flocked to it in order to receive his blessing; others brought their sick to be healed. A woman brought to him a dumb boy; Theodore opened the boy's mouth, breathed into it and made the sign of the Cross over it and straightway the boy spoke. Another boy was brought to him who was quite unable to walk; the Sair;t moved back from the boy a little way and then said, 'Come to me, child, in the name of the Lord'. Immediately the boy left his mother's side and walked across to Theodore.

(Summary) He is then invited to the neighbouring monastery of St. Stephen, known as Vetapes, and is next taken by Amiantus, the bishop of Kinna, to that town that he might bless it. He is met by a procession and a festival is celebrated in his honour. He returned to Druinoi and then started for Anastasioupolis; on the journey crowds assemble to receive his blessing.

(Summary) On the way he cured a dumb youth with the same method of healing as in ch. 65 (save that in this case Theodore breathed into the mouth three times) and the saying of the 'Amen' as in ch. 61 . In this case also he had previously given the youth 'the holy body of Christ'.

(Summary) The inhabitants of Anastasioupolis welcomed his return. A paralysed woman was brought on horseback on a pack­saddle; he directs them to take her to the monastery: he followed two days later. He bids the paralytic hold on to the railings of the pulpit; he takes oil from the 'unsleeping lamp' and makes the sign of the Cross on her forehead, hands and feet and bids her go to her own house rejoicing: she then walks without support.

The Saint once gave orders to some carpenters to make a wooden chest for storing corn and pulse for the monastery's use. And he commanded them not to touch any meat until the work which he had ordered was finished, and that then they could go to the village and eat. (For meat was never eaten in the monastery all the year through, except on three saints' festivals when the crowd which came to the festivals were fed.) A few days after the Saint had gone away to Anastasioupolis, the foreman brought in some meat secretly and ate it, whereupon he was immediately stricken with fever and lay half­dead, and his life was despaired of. When the Saint in Anastasioupolis heard the news about him from a brother who had come from the monastery he said 'Verily the saying of the Holy Scripture is true, "Obedience is life, disobedience death!"* For the man had disobeyed my injunction and eaten meat in the monastery and that is the reason why he is ill'. He left the city and came to the monastery and going to the place where the sick man lay he said to him, 'Do not conceal from me what you really did, brother; for you ate meat, did you not?' and the other answered that that was so. The blessed man then said, 'Now see and recognize, that it is not God who sends wrath upon us, but we bring it upon ourselves. Believe me, brother, that when I did not allow you any meat I did not do so from niggardliness as you supposed but in order to preserve the purity and sanctity of this holy place. Rise now in the name of Jesus Christ, finish your task and for the future take care not to disobey'. Then be blessed him and placed his hand on him, and the man was at once relieved of the fever; he got up the same day, and began to finish the rest of the work.

(Summary) When the Saint had returned to Anastasioupolis a man came to the monastery and with the abbot's consent remained in the church of the holy martyr George, though visitors generally remained in the church of the Archangel. The Saint in Anastasioupolis is told by St. George in a vision that the visitor had secretly taken some pork into the chapel of St. George; he sends a messenger to the abbot, Philoumenus,who makes a search and discovers the pork in the possession of the visitor.

(Sunmary) Aemilianus, the bishop of the town of Germia*, invited Theodore to stay with him. They meet in the church of the Archangel at Germia. At that time the annual festival of the Mother of God in the village of Mousge took place which was held conjointly by the Bishops and the inhabitants of the two towns of Germia and Eudoxias, in each case the whole town turning out in procession and meeting at Mousge. Theodore accompanied Aemilianus and on arrival at the church a woman named Eirene who had been grievously afflicted by evil spirits for many years and who was bedridden caught sight of him from outside the church. Then she was moved by the spirits and throwing off her cape and her covering she forced her way with loud yells through the crowd in front of her, reviling the blessed Theodore, the demons cursing him since they were humiliated through his presence. On seeing her the whole crowd began to repeat the 'Kyrie eleison' (Lord, have mercy!). But the woman was lifted off the ground* and with her hands bound above her head she was carried through the air from the pulpit to the rails of the sanctuary, while the demons kept on crying out that the Saint was making appeals to God against them, but after the reading of the Gospel she was borne down to the ground and lay at the entrance to the sanctuary and licked the dust with her tongue. After the service Theodore turned towards her, seized her by the hair and in the name of Christ ordered the evil spirits to depart from her. This they did, wailing as they went. On the death of her husband and children she bade farewell to the world and took up her abode in a cell near the church of the Virgin where she lived as a solitary. Later Theodore returned to Anastasioupolis.

There came to visit him the chief elder of the village Araunia Andreas by name and he kept him several days.

Then it happened that Andreas' child, named Cometas, fell grievously ill and was at the point of death. So as the child was at the last gasp and not uttering any sound nor recognizing anyone the men of the village prepared his grave and his mother in Anastasioupolis sent the elder John to convey this news to her husband, so that he might hurry home to his child's funeral. At that hour the holy Bishop Theodore after reciting the liturgy was taking some food; Andreas, the father of the child, was with him. When the elder John who had been sent had arrived he told Andreas the reason for his coming. And when the blessed Theodore heard it he did not allow him to leave at once, saying, 'I, too, will come with you, for I want to go to my monastery and visit the brethren; but first let us enjoy the good things given to us by God and then we will start For I trust in God that we shall find your child alive; for he is not dying now but he will recover and be given back to you in good health'. After saying this he bade the elder John, who had brought the message, to come in also and eat with them. After they had risen from table the blessed man went to the village and all the inhabitants came out to meet him with torches and censers. As it was evening he went into the church and having blessed the crowd he read the evening office and then went away to the house of the chief elder Andreas. Seeing the child failing fast he stood in prayer and besought Him who has power over life and death, Christ our God, to restore the child's life and give him back alive to his parents. After his prayer the Saint nodded and spoke to the child, who opened his eyes and looked hard at him but was unable to give him any answer (for he had also lost his power of speech). Again bending his head the servant of God prayed to the Lord to fulfil his prayer and to raise up the child in health. And having finished his prayer he spoke to the child saying, 'Cometas, look up and tell us how you are and give an answer to your father that he may not grieve about you'. Again the boy opened his eyes and looked at him intently and gave him an answer to his questions. Then having made the sign of the Cross on his forehead, on his hands and on his feet the Saint took the boy's right hand and made him sit up saying, 'In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ Who raised up the dying child of the centurion do you rise up and be well, for it is He also who now gives you life'. And he commanded that some thing should be given him to eat.[Cf. Mark 5:43] So they brought him food and he ate. Being invited to supper by the parents the Saint allowed the elder John to carry the child and bring him in to supper. So the elder John holding the child at supper gave him from the dishes placed before him so that the child took more food than the others and all who saw it joined in great joy with the parents glorifying God Who gives life even to the dead at the request of His servants. On the following day the child, now restored to health, began to walk. And the blessed man left the village and went to the monastery.

During those days he welcomed a saint of the desert gifted with foresight, Antiochus, as I believe he was styled, who was returning from Constantinople to the East. For he had gone up to the Emperor Maurice to ask his help on behalf of a town which had been pillaged by barbarians. He had eyebrows that met each other and was an African by race, about one hundred years old, and the hair of his head was as white as wool, and hung down to his loins, and so too did his beard, and his nails were very long. It was now sixty years since he had touched wine or oil or other drinks; and he had not tasted bread for thirty years. His food was uncooked vegetables with salt and vinegar and his drink, water. The facts about each other had been revealed to him and to Saint Theodore. And the blessed Theodore told the brethren about him and said, 'Never in the whole desert of the East have I seen or heard of such a worthy servant of God'. And in his turn the just man from the East said to the disciples accompanying him concerning the holy Bishop Theodore, 'I had never met such a holy man up to now; for God declared the facts about him to me'. And his disciples when they had heard this took bits from the hem of Theodore's garments for a blessing. When the brethren of the monastery went to meet him to do obeisance Antiochus was indignant and with the interpreterts help he stopped them saying, 'As you have such a shining light and holy apostle of Christ why do you come to do obeisance to me who am like a wild beast and imperfect and of no account? Pay attention to him and award honour to this holy man who is worthy of praise and admirable who conducts himself in the world in a manner pleasing to God and treads its pleasures underfoot and by his teaching turns many souls to God'.

Evening came and after reciting the holy liturgy they sat down together to eat their short accustomed meal; and after this the Saint wished according to his custom to wash the African's feet, but he would not allow that but they washed each other's hands. In the morning the servant of God was in a hurry to depart so as to accomplish the journey which lay before him. But Saint Theodore, having learnt by revelation that the other's death was near and wishing this to take place in his monastery begged him to stay for a time and rest from the weariness of the journey. But the other besought him to let him go saying, 'My departure from my body is at hand and I am hastening, if I possibly can, to reach my own cell'. So Saint Theodore went out and accompanied him to Anastasioupolis, and he set before him the difficulties and worries which beset him in his episcopal work, and the break it had made in his rule of life and the slackness in his monasteries which was due to his absence and asked him what he thought was the best thing for him to do in the circumstances and whether according to his own desire he should relinquish the office of a bishop and be free to return to the company of his monks. The African advised him that the latter course would be right and that he should do it quickly that he might be innocent in the eyes of God. Theodore then gave him for his use the horse on which he himself used to ride and one brother to accompany him as long as he wished and thus sped him on his way from Anastasioupolis. They kissed and embraced each other and then separated. The blessed man returned to the bishop's house and said of the other that he would not be able to reach his own place as he would very shortly be leaving his body and so it happened. For a few days later report was brought of his falling asleep while he was still on the highroad.

The writer explains that Theodbre's desire to resign his bishopric arose from the fear of neglecting his contemplation of heavenly matters if he were too much involved in earthly' business. The villages belonging to the Church were a constant source of trouble.

For Theodore used to entrust the administration and the governance of the properties belonging to the church to men of the city and injustice was done to the peasants; in one case for instance he had entrusted them to a leading citizen (protiktor) of Anastasioupolis, Theodosius, by name; and he continually acted unjustly and defrauded the peasants. So they a came to the servant of Christ and met him in tears, and he, moved with sympathy, grieved over them, for his holy and sensitive soul could not bear to see any one in trouble. He summoned Theodosius and with many admonitions besought him to cease his acts of injustice against the peasants. But Theodosius again invented some pretexts against the villagers and continued in his unjust treatment, whereupon in one of the villages, called Eucraous, when he was proceeding to his usual acts of injustice, the peasants of the village were roused to uncontrollable anger; they all gathered together with a common purpose, armed themselves with divers weapons and swords and catapults, and took up their stand outside the village to meet him, and threatened him with death if he did not turn back and leave them. When he saw them all prepared in this way for battle and surmising that he would get the worst of it, he left them and returned to Anastasioupolis as if with the intention of coming to attack them in greater force.

But when the holy man heard what had happened, he spent that day in much weeping and groaning, bearing in mind that, if this rising should by chance come to a head and many be killed, he himself would incur unforgettable dishonour as having been the cause of such a calamity, while it would be no easy task to clear himself from responsibility for the souls that he had endangered. So he fell to the ground on his face and worshipped and thanked the Lord for having prevented this outbreak of anger from coming to a fatal end. And he summoned Theodosius and informed him that in future he could not retain the administration of the villages lest some disturbance should arise in their midst.

Theodosius, however, asserted that it was at his, Theodore's, instigation that the rising of the peasants against him had taken place; then he barked out various insulting remarks at him and shouted a perfectly unjustified accusation of prodigality at him and finally kicked the chair on which he was sitting so that Theodore fell on his back on the floor of the council­chamber in front of them all. Thereupon the Saint got up and in a very gentle voice solemnly declared to them that he would not continue as bishop among them, but would return to his own monastery. Not satisfied even with this Theodosius still attacked him, threatening him with the fine of two pounds of , gold which it had been stipulated should be paid by either | party who did not abide by his contract, alleging that through Theodore he was being ousted from the villages before the time which had been fixed in the agreement. But his wife remonstrated with him and said, 'Let there be no quarrel between you and this holy man lest instead of a blessing and a prayer, which we have not had from him, we may get a curse and be doomed'. But he would not stop to listen to her, and again one day he went up to the bishop's house to vex him and to summon him to court on the matter. But when the porter had gone in to announce him to the Saint, suddenly great dread fell upon him as he stood waiting, and there appeared to him a young man of terrifying aspect and brilliantly clad, who threatened him angrily and who said, without wasting words, 'You villain, is it thus you oppose the great man and never cease causing him constant annoyance and sorrow?-here and now I forewarn you, that if you do not submit to him, great wrath will come upon you and you will end your life most miserably'. And with these words he vanished. Theodosius remained speechless for a considerable time and when he had recovered a little the Saint summoned him, and he went in and fell at his feet weeping, beseeching the bishop to forgive him for the many annoyances he had often caused him, and agreeing never to trouble him again about the fine of two pounds.

It happened that once, I do not know how, the Saint was poisoned by some men of Anastasioupolis, and he lay in his cell in the bishop's house speechless and immovable for three days, so that the report spread that he was dead. But after the third day our Lady the Holy Mother of God, Mary, appeared to him pronouncing, 'Woe' upon the wicked men and condemning them; and made known to him the reason of his illness and the names of the conspirators. Then she took three pills out of a napkin and gave them to him saying, 'Eat these and after that you will have no pain'. He thought he took them and then immediately awoke from sleep and arose glorifying his Saviour Christ and His Immaculate and Holy Mother. And he published the reason of his illness but forebore to mention those who had caused it, but on the contrary prayed to God to forgive them.

(Summary) Murmurs now arose that Theodore by his constant giving of alms was wasting the substance of the church, although out of the 365 'nomismata' allotted to him for his household expenses he only used 40 in the whole year and gave all the rest to the Church. And at times when he stood reading the portion of the Psalms appointed for the day, he was interrupted and was forced to break off in the midst of his prayers to settle questions of administration. While he was troubled by these distractions he found that the brothers in his monasteries were leading a careless and barren life through his absence and considering whether they should not move elsewhere. He reflected that he would have to render account concerning his monks in the day of judgment and was much troubled and thought long over all these difficulties.

He therefore laid the matter of his resignation before St. George in prayer and besought God that he might without condemnation deliver up his bishopric. He received assurance that his request was granted. So he summoned a meeting of the clergy and landowners of the town. They had refused to listen to his protests, he said, and had persisted in making him their bishop, though he knew that he was unfitted for the government of the church. 'And now this is the eleventh year that I have troubled you and been troubled by you, I beseech you, therefore, choose for yourselves a shepherd in whom you may find satisfaction, one who can take charge of your affairs.' As for himself, henceforth he was no longer their bishop, but as a humble monk he was returning to the monastery in which he had vowed to serve his Lord all the days of his life. Bidding them farewell he set out for the capital of the province, Ancyra, taking with him John, the archdeacon of his monastery.

And that night a man of the city saw, in a dream, how a bright and radiant star, casting its light over the city and standing above the church, moved away and was taken from them and then could scarcely be seen far away in the distance. When he saw this, he understood that it had its fulfilment in the holy man's departure from the city.

The servant of God journeyed to the metropolis, Ancyra, and there he met with the most blessed metropolitan, Paul, and begged him to accept his resignation; however, Paul asserted that he could not let a man of such virtue resign. After much argument one with the other finally they both decided to refer the matter to Kyriakus, the most blessed Patriarch of Constantinople, and to abide by whatever order he should send. So they both wrote; the blessed Theodore sent his requests to the Emperor Maurice of pious memory as well as to the most blessed Patriarch, Kyriakus, advising them to accept his resignation; but the metropolitan expressed his annoyance at this request to the most holy Patriarch and said he would await hls commands.

And the most blessed Patriarch Kyriakus wrote to the metropolitan to grant Theodore's request-for the Emperor had ordered him to do this-and at the same time to bestow upon him the bishop's 'Omophorion' [A wide band of embroidered stuff, corresponding to the Western pallium] so that he would retain his rank, because he was a holy man and it was through no fault of his that he was resigning his bishopric. On receiving this order the metropolitan relieved the blessed Theodore of his bishopric; and when the latter brought his petition of discharge, he bestowed the episcopal 'Omophorion' upon him and advised him to keep away from the neighbourhood* of Anastasioupolis until another bishop had been appointed in his stead. Theodore therefore left the metropolis of Ancyra and came to the region of the town of Heliopolis and hid himself in the oratory of the Archangel at Acrena, quite close to Pidrum.*

One day when he was celebrating the Eucharist in that same oratory of the Archangel, his countenance became bright and a joy to behold, shining with great glory and grace. One of the brothers present, a pious priest, Julianus by name, who had noticed the brightness and joy of his countenance, fell at his feet in private saying, 'One question I want to ask of you, father, and for the Lord's sake I beg you satisfy me on the point'. After the Saint had given him his blessing and persuaded him to rise promising to answer his question, Julian began, 'When you are offering the oblation, father, some days no change takes place in your face, but on most days we see your face shining brightly with great glory and filled with such deep delight that each one of us shares in the gladness which springs from your great rejoicing; so it was today when we looked at you. Do tell me, for the Lord's sake, what the cause of it is.' But the servant of the Lord tried to evade any explanation. However, the other adjured him earnestly and implored him to tell him about it. Then Theodore said to him, 'If you will promise me never to relate it to anybody, I will tell you the reason'. After the priest had taken an oath never to divulge the secret to anyone before the death of the Saint,* the blessed man said to him, 'When you see me rejoicing during the oblation, know that I am rejoicing because of a vision; for I see a very bright veil as if it were actually descending upon the Holy gifts while I offer them, and whenever I see that I rejoice and exult; and because I do not always see it, therefore my face is not always cheerful. And when I do not see it at the usual time, I lengthen the prayer of oblation while waiting for this vision which to­day also I was deemed worthy to behold'. The priest Julianus kept what he had heard secret and told no man of it until after the Saint's death. On hearing that a bishop had been appointed in Anastasioupolis the blessed man returned to his monastery rejoicing and glorifying God and by divine grace he worked many miracles on the sick that came to him.

(Shortened.) Among the sick who came to him was a certain priest called Paul who was brought on a horse from a monastery in Lycaonia. His right hip was dislocated and his head was bent down towards his left foot-so that he could neither stand nor could he lie down flat on a bed-he was a piteous sight He had tried many baths and medicaments but all to no purpose. The blessed Theodore ordered him to stay three days in the monastery; and then when he had learnt the facts about him, he said to him, 'If you wish to be restored to health go back to your own country and be reconciled with him who has a grievance against you, and return before winter and God will give you health'. Paul however denied and said he had no difference whatever with anyone, then the holy man stopped him very sharply and said, 'Come, do not tell lies; you are at enmity with your abbot and have failed to obey him'. (And in fact Paul had engaged in great strife with him.) Paul then confessed the truth and begged Theodore to relieve him of his continuous pain before he started on his journey back This the Saint did by ordering him to have his clothes removed, then he rubbed his limbs, which were diseased, praying over him and anointing his whole body with a salve made of wax But the crookedness still remained; his attendants lifted him on to his horse and he returned to his own country. There he was reconciled to his abbot and came back to the monastery in the winter. The Saint was enclosed in a very narrow cell in the monastery of the holy Mother of God and through his prayers Paul was led back to health* and loosed from the malady which bound him. He was told to take a walk each day near the monastery, supporting himself on a staff which Theodore gave him and coming daily for a blessing. Later he was given a longer staff, and after Easter Theodore gave him yet another with these words: 'Hold this in your hand and go back whence you came; for very soon you will be deemed worthy of perfect health. But when this staff falls from your hand do not trouble to pick it up again.' After receiving a blessing the priest departed to his home, and one day while he was walking the stick fell from his hand; remembering the Saint's words he made no effort to recover it. He was completely restored to health and spok