Theodore I of Milan

Saint Theodore I of Milan was archbishop of Milan from the year 475 to 490 (according to some sources, from 480). He is honoured as a saint in the Catholic Church, and according to the English source also in the Orthodox Church; the Greek source mentions him only as a saint of the Catholic Church. His commemoration is on 27 July, and together with all the holy bishops of Milan, on 25 September.

Almost nothing is known about his life and episcopate. His episcopate was marked by the seizure of power in Italy by the first barbarian king, Odoacer (476), followed by the invasion of the Ostrogoths of Theodoric the Great, in the years 488 to 490. According to the writings of Ennodius, bishop of Pavia in the sixth century, in these difficult times Theodore showed himself a man of great firmness and keen wit, a steadfast leader for the oppressed people of Milan. One of the poems of Ennodius, written before 521, is dedicated to him and praises in the Milanese bishop courage, kindness, wisdom and knowledge.

The Catalogue of the Archbishops of Milan places him between Senator, bishop at an unclear time between 470 and 480, and Laurence I, historically attested from 489. The same catalogue gives him nine years, eight months and seventeen days of episcopate and says that he was buried on 28 March in the chapel of Saint Hippolytus of the basilica of Saint Laurence. Theodore died in 490, and his remains were laid in the basilica of Saint Laurence Maggiore in the city. His feast is celebrated on 27 July in this basilica. A late tradition, with no historical basis, links Theodore with the Medici family.