Theodore of Sykeon

Saint Theodore of Sykeon (Theodore the Sykeote), a venerable father, was a well-⁠known Byzantine ascetic of Galatia, bishop of Anastasiopolis, born in the first half of the sixth century (in some sources, around 550) and fallen asleep on 22 April 613 (in another source, in the thirteenth year of Heraclius, that is 623). His feast is on 22 April.

The source of his life

His Life, written after 641 and attributed to a certain Eleusius-⁠George, otherwise unknown, is a key source for the reign of the emperor Heraclius (610-641), with unique information from the political history of Byzantium in the early seventh century and details of village life.

Childhood

He was born in Sykeon, a village in Galatia, through which ran the highway of the imperial post; on the road stood an inn kept by a very beautiful girl, Mary, her mother Elpidia and a sister, Despoinia, women who earned their living as courtesans. Theodore was the son of Mary and Cosmas, who had become known in the hippodrome of Constantinople, in the corps of those who performed acrobatic feats on camels, and was appointed to carry out the emperor's orders. His Life depicts the women of his household as strong, with some choices in life, able to make a living from the proceeds of the inn. According to another (Serbian) source, his mother was a rich widow who intended to devote him to a military career; Saint George is said to have appeared to her in a dream and told her that Theodore was destined for service "not to an earthly king but to the heavenly King." It is told that at ten years old Theodore, following the example of an old man, Stephen, who lived in their house, gave himself to harsh fasting and all-⁠night prayer.

When he was about twelve a bubonic plague fell upon the village and attacked him too, so that he was near death. They took him to the shrine of Saint John the Baptist near the village and laid him at the entrance to the sanctuary; he recovered and returned home. According to the Ukrainian source, the child was healed by two drops of dew that fell from the image of the Saviour painted on the vault of the church. Saint George appeared to him often, leading him at night to prayer until morning. At twelve, in a vision, he saw Christ, the King of Glory, on the throne, together with His Mother, and from then on he struggled even more zealously.

His struggle

He often went to a shrine of Saint George on the rocky hill near the village, and at fourteen he moved there. His mother brought him food, but he left it all on the stones by the church and ate only one prosphora a day. To escape the glory of men, he withdrew into complete solitude, in a cave which he dug under a great stone, not far from the oratory of Saint George. He persuaded a deacon to bring him bread and water and told no one where he had hidden himself. For two years he lived in this seclusion, eating a single prosphora a day, in complete silence. When news of the youth's exploits reached the local bishop Theodosius, he ordained him deacon and later priest, though the saint was only eighteen years old (in another source, seventeen). Theodore then resolved to go to Jerusalem and other places in the Holy Land, visiting the desert monasteries and anchorites. At the monastery of Choziba he received the monastic habit from the abbot, but returned to Galatia. It is said that even young he had the gift of healing; Saint George delivered him many times from the snares of the devil.

Bishop

He was chosen bishop of Anastasiopolis. On his third journey to the Holy Land he was seized by the desire to lay down the office of bishop and stayed some time at the Laura of Saint Sabas, which at this time attracted men from the whole Christian world seeking the perfect monastic life. Only after Saint George appeared to him in a dream did Theodore return to his bishopric at Anastasiopolis. In the reign of the emperor Maurice (582-602) he foretold the emperor's death and "great tribulations, terrible scourges [that] threaten the world"; he was soon proved right, by the outbreak of the twenty-⁠six-⁠year war with Persia sparked by Maurice's death. He was a close friend of the family of the emperor Phocas, but would pray for Phocas only if he stopped massacring people. After the successful rebellion of Heraclius, he nevertheless intervened to save the life of Domentziolus, nephew of Phocas, and was asked in return to pray for Heraclius and his reign. He had good relations with Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople; the historian Walter Kaegi says, however, that Heraclius may always have felt some reserve toward him. During Lent 613 Heraclius asked for his blessing in fighting the Sassanids; the saint blessed him and invited him to dinner, but Heraclius refused for lack of time; the saint said that not accepting his gifts was a sign of our defeat. Indeed, Heraclius lost the Battle of Antioch. According to another (Serbian) source, he was bishop for eleven years and then returned to his monastery, where he fell asleep in old age.

Repose and veneration

He fell asleep on 22 April 613. His remains were quickly brought to Constantinople, to protect them from the Persian war and to add divine protection to the city; an elaborate ceremony of reception of the remains tied Saint Theodore to the regime of Heraclius.