Theodora of Vasta

Venerable Martyr Theodora of Vasta lived in the Peloponnese in the ninth century (some say the tenth), under the Byzantine Empire. She came from Arcadia or Messenia, of poor, God-⁠fearing parents who planted faith in Christ in her. From childhood she had a special love for divine things and wished to give her whole life to God.

To hide from those who knew her, she did not enter a convent but a men's monastery, at Panaitsa on the border of Arcadia and Messenia, presenting herself as a man named Theodore. There she became an example of patience, obedience and humility, and the fathers entrusted her with the monastery's outside work. In a year of severe famine, when the monastery was in danger, Theodore went through Christians' houses to gather help. Then a woman falsely accused him of having made her pregnant, and her parents took him by force to be judged. Though he could have defended himself by showing the body, he chose to bear the burden of the slander. She was condemned to be beheaded, and the place of her suffering was the village of Vasta in Arcadia. She went to her death “like a lamb without voice”.

The executioner and his helpers saw her woman's body, repented and asked God's forgiveness. It is said that before her death the saint asked that trees grow from her hair and a river flow from her blood. Trees still grow on the roof of the church built at Vasta, a wonder that is known and has been examined, and the church is a place of pilgrimage. Saint Theodora is commemorated on 11 September (new style).