Thaddeus the Studite

Thaddeus the Studite was a monk of the Studion monastery in Constantinople, of Bulgarian stock, who died of the beatings he suffered for the veneration of the holy icons, in 815 or 816. He is remembered on 29 December.

He was at first a slave, of Bulgarian origin. After being freed he entered the Studion monastery, one of the most important monasteries of the Byzantine Empire. In the iconoclast persecution under the emperor Leo V he was a resolute defender of the veneration of icons. He was arrested together with other brethren and imprisoned. He did not yield to the demands to deny the veneration of icons and was punished with one hundred and thirty lashes. After three days he died of his wounds.

He is honored as a martyr and saint. The date of his death is given differently: 29 December 815 in one source, 22 November or 29 December 816 in another.