St. Theodore of Studion: 11th-century mosaic from Nea Moni Monastery, Chios Monk Born Died 759 826
Honored in Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Roman Catholic Church Feast 11 November
Theodore the Studite (also known as Theodorus Studita, St. Theodore of Stoudios, and St. Theodore of Studium; 759826) was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios monastery in Constantinople.[1] Theodore's letter, containing suggested monastery reform rules, is the first recorded stand against slavery. He played a major role in the revivals both of Byzantine monasticism and of classical literary genres in Byzantium. He is known as a zealous opponent of iconoclasm, one of several conflicts that set him at odds with both emperor and patriarch.
Biography
Family and childhood
Theodore was born in Constantinople in 759. He was the oldest son of Photeinos, an important financial official in the palace bureaucracy,[2] and Theoktiste, herself the offspring of a distinguished Constantinopolitan family.[3] The brother of Theoktiste, Theodore's uncle Platon, was himself an important official in the imperial financial administration.[4] The family therefore controlled a significant portion, if not all, of the imperial financial administration during the reign of Constantine V (r. 741775). Theodore had two younger brothers (Joseph, later Archbishop of Thessaloniki, and Euthymios) and one sister, whose name we do not know. It has often been assumed that Theodore's family belonged to the iconodule party during the first period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. There is however no evidence to support this, and their high position in the imperial bureaucracy of the time renders any openly iconodule position highly unlikely. Furthermore, when Platon left his office and entered the priesthood in 759, he was ordained by an abbot who, if he was not actively iconoclastic himself, at the very least offered no resistance to the iconoclastic policies of Constantine V. The family as a whole was most likely indifferent to the question of icons during this period. According to the later hagiographical literature, Theodore received an education befitting his family's station, and from the age of seven was instructed by a private tutor, eventually concentrating in particular on theology. It is however not clear that these opportunities were available to even the most well-placed Byzantine families of the eighth century, and it is possible that Theodore was at least partially an autodidact.
Theodore the Studite rule for the governance of the monastery, and made the Studios community the center of an extensive congregation of dependent monasteries, including the Sakkudion. He maintained contact with these other monasteries above all through his prodigious literary output (letters as well as catechisms), which reached a quantitative peak at this time, and developed a system of messengers that was so elaborate as to resemble a private postal service. To this period may also date the so-called iconophile epigrams, iambic acrostics composed by Theodore that replaced the "iconoclastic epigrams" which were previously exhibited on the Chalke gate of the Great Palace. It has been suggested that these were commissioned by Irene, as another sign of her good favor toward Theodore, although a commission under Michael I Rangabe (r. 811813) is also possible; in any case, they were removed in 815 by Leo V the Armenian (r. 813820) and replaced by new "iconoclastic" verses. In 806, the Patriarch Tarasios died, and Emperor Nikephoros I (r. 802811) set about seeking his replacement. It appears likely that Platon at this time put forth Theodore's name, but Nikephoros, a layman who held the rank asekretis in the imperial bureaucracy, was chosen instead. The selection of Nikephoros gave rise to an immediate protest on the part of the Studites, and in particular Theodore and Platon, who objected to the elevation of a layman to the patriarchal throne. Theodore and Platon were jailed for 24 days before the Emperor Nikephoros allowed them to return to their congregations.
Second Iconoclasm
At the very beginning of his reign, Leo V faced a new Bulgarian offensive that reached the walls of Constantinople and ravaged large sections of Thrace. This came to an end with the death of Krum on April 13, 814, and the internal power struggles that followed. However, as the previous 30 years since the approval of icon-veneration at the Synod of 787 had represented for the Byzantines a string of military catastrophes, Leo resolved to reach back to the policies of the more successful Isaurian dynasty. He renamed his son Constantine, thus drawing a parallel to Leo III (r. 717741) and Constantine V, and beginning in 814 began to discuss with various clerics and senators the possibility of reviving the iconoclastic policy of the Isaurians. This movement met with strong opposition from the Patriarch Nikephoros, who himself gathered a group of bishops and abbots about him and swore them to uphold the veneration of images. The dispute came to a head in a debate between the two parties before the emperor in the Great Palace on Christmas 814, at which Theodore and his brother Joseph were present, and took the side of the iconophiles. Leo held fast by his plan to revive iconoclasm, and in March 815 the Patrarch Nikephoros was stripped of his office and exiled to Bithynia. At this point Theodore remained in Constantinople, and assumed a leading role in the iconodule opposition. On March 25, Palm Sunday, he commanded his monks to process through the monastery's vineyard, holding up icons so that they could be seen over the walls by the neighbors. This provocation elicited only a rebuke from the emperor. A new patriarch, Theodotos, was selected, and in April a synod was convened in Hagia Sophia, at which iconoclasm was re-introduced as dogma. Theodore composed a series of letters in which he called on "all, near and far," to revolt against the decision of the synod. Not long thereafter he was exiled by imperial command to a Metopa, a fortress on the eastern shore of Lake Apollonia in Bithynia. Shortly thereafter Leo had Theodore's poems removed from the Chalke Gate and replaced by a new set of "iconoclastic" epigrams. While Theodore was in exile, the leadership of the Studite congregation was assumed by the Abbot Leontios, who for a time adopted the iconoclast position and won over many individuals monks to his party. He was, however, eventually won back to the iconodule party. The Studite situation mirrored a general trend, with a number of bishops and abbots at first willing to reach a compromise with the iconoclasts, but then in the years between 816 and 819 renouncing the iconoclast position, a movement that was perhaps motivated by the martyrdom of the Studite monk
Theodore the Studite Thaddaios. It was during this upswell in icondule sentiment that Theodore began to compose his own polemic against the iconoclasts, the Refutatio, concentrating in particular on refuting the arguments and criticizing the literary merits of the new iconoclastic epigrams on the Chalke. Theodore exercised a wide influence during the first year of his exile, primarily through a massive letter-writing campaign. Accordingly, he was transferred in 816 to Boneta, a fortress in the more remote Anatolic theme, whence he nevertheless remained abreast of developments in the capital and maintained a regular correspondence. This continued activity led to an imperial order that Theodore be whipped, which his captors however refused to carry out. In 817, Theodore wrote two letters to Pope Paschal I, which were co-signed by several fellow iconophile abbots, in the first requesting that he summon an anti-iconoclastic Synod; letters to the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Jerusalem, among other "foreign" clerics, followed. As a result the emperor ordered at least once more that Theodore be flogged, and the command was this time carried out, with the result that Theodore became quite ill. After his recovery Theodore was moved to Smyrna. Early in 821, however, Leo V fell victim to a grisly murder at the altar of the Church of St. Stephen in the imperial palace; Theodore was released from exile shortly thereafter.
Final years
Following his release, Theodore made his way back to Constantinople, travelling through north-western Anatolia and meeting with numerous monks and abbots on the way. At the time he appears to have believed that the new emperor, Michael II (r. 820829), would adopt a pro-icons policy, and he expressed this hope in two letters to Michael. An imperial audience was arranged for a group of iconodule clerics, including Theodore, at which however Michael expressed his attention to "leave the church as he had found it." The abbots were to be allowed to venerate images if they so wished, as long as they remained outside of Constantinople. Theodore returned to Anatolia, in what seems to have been a sort of self-imposed exile. Theodore's activities in his final years are somewhat difficult to trace. He continued to write numerous letters supporting the use of icons, and appears to have remained an important leader of the opposition to imperial iconoclasm. He was present at a meeting of "more than a hundred" iconodule clerics in 823 or 824, which ended in an argument between the Studites and the host, one Ioannikos, which may have represented a power struggle within the movement. Theodore also spoke against the second marriage of Michael II to the nun Euphrosyne, a daughter of Constantine VI, although in a very moderate fashion, and with none of the passion or effect of the Moechian controversy. Theodore's years of exile, regular fasting, and exceptional exertions had taken their toll, and in 826 he became quite ill. In this year, he dictated his Testament, a form of spiritual guidance for the future abbots of the Studios monastery, to his disciple Naukratios. He died on the 11 of November of that same year, while celebrating mass, apparently in the monastery of Hagios Tryphon on Cape Akritas in Bithynia. Eighteen years later, his remains, along with those of his brother Joseph, were brought back to the Studios Monastery, were they were interred beside the grave of their uncle Platon.
Legacy
Theodore's revival of the Studios monastery had a major effect on the later history of Byzantine monasticism. His disciple, Naukratios, recovered control of the monastery after the end of iconoclasm in 842, and throughout the remainder of the ninth century the Studite abbots continued Theodore's tradition of opposition to patriarchal and imperial authority. Elements of Theodore's Testament were incorporated verbatim in the typika of certain early Athonite monasteries. The most important elements of his reform were its emphases on cenobitic (communal) life, manual labor, and a carefully defined administrative hierarchy. Theodore also built the Studios monastery into a major scholarly center, in particular through its library and scriptorium, which certainly surpassed all other contemporary Byzantine ecclesiastical institutions in this regard. Theodore himself was a pivotal figure in the revival of classical literary forms, in particular iambic verse, in
Theodore the Studite Byzantium, and his criticisms of the iconoclastic epigrams drew a connection between literary skill and orthodox faith. After his death the Studios monastery continued to be a vital center for Byzantine hymnography and hagiography, as well as for the copying of manuscripts. Following the "triumph of Orthodoxy" (i.e. the reintroduction of icons) in 843, Theodore became one of the great heroes of the iconodule opposition. There was no formal process of canonization in Byzantium, but Theodore was soon recognized as a saint. In the Latin West, a tradition arose according to which Theodore had recognized papal primacy, on the basis of his letters to Pope Paschal, and he was formally canonized by the Catholic Church, an honor which no other Byzantine iconophile received. His feast day is November 12.[7]
Works
Theodore was an immensely prolific author; among his most important works are: His letters, which convey many personal details, as well as illuminating a number of his historical engagements. Ed. with summaries in German by Georgios Fatouros, Theodori Studitae Epistulae (=CFHB 31) (Berlin, 1992) [two volumes]. ISBN 3-11-008808-8. His poems, which represent an important stage in the revival of classical verse in Byzantium. Ed. with German translation by Paul Speck, Theodoros Studites: Jamben auf verschiedene Gegestnde (=Supplementa Byzantina 1) (Berlin, 1968). Catecheses, two collections of addresses to his monks on various subjects connected with the spiritual life. The first collection (the "magna") ed. A. Papadopulos-Kerameus, Theodori Studitae Magna Catachesis (St. Petersburg, 1904); the second (the "parva") ed. E. Auvray, S.P.N. et Confessoris Theodori Studitis Praepositi Parva Catachesis (Paris, 1891), French translation by Anne-Marie Mohr, Petites catchses (=Les Pres dans la foi 52) (Paris, 1993). The funeral oration on his mother. Ed. and tr. St. Efthymiadis and J. M. Featherstone, "Establishing a holy lineage: Theodore the Stoudite's funerary catechism for his mother (BHG 2422)," in M. Grnbart, ed., Theatron: rhetorische Kultur in Sptantike und Mittelalter (=Millennium-Studien 13) (Berlin, 2007), pp.1351. ISBN 3-11-019476-7. The funeral oration on his uncle Plato (Theodori Studitae Oratio funebris in Platonem ejus patrem spiritualem, PG 99, pp.803850). Various polemical discourses connected with the question of image-worship, in particular Theodori praepositi Studitarum Antirrhetici adversus Iconomachos, PG 99, 327B-436A and Theodori Studitae Refutatio et subversio impiorum poematum Ioannis, Ignatii, Sergii, et Stephani, recentium christomachorum Cf. the selection translated by Catherine Roth, On the holy icons (Crestwood, 1981). ISBN 0-913836-76-1 His Testament, dictated to his disciple Naukratios at the end of his life: PG 99, 1813-24. English translation by Timothy Miller, in J. Thomas and A. C. Hero, eds., Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents (=Dumbarton Oaks Studies 35) (Washington, 2000), I.6783. ISBN 0-88402-232-3; Available online [8]. A sermon on the Apostle Bartholomew, ed. with Italian translation by Giorgio di Maria in V. Giustolisi, ed., Tre laudationes bizantine in onore di San Bartolomeo apostolo (Palermo, 2004).
Commentary on Theodore
As also mentioned by Kirby Page in Jesus or Christianity, Charles Loring Brace tells us in Gesta Christ that it was not until the 9th century that the first recorded stand against slavery itself was taken by St. Theodore: No direct word against slavery, however, came forth from the great Teacher [Jesus Christ]. It was not until the ninth century after, that one of his humble followers, Saint Theodore of Studium (Constantinople), ventured to put forth the command "Thou shalt possess no slave, neither for domestic service nor for the labor of the fields, for man is made in the image of God."
Footnotes
[1] ; . [2] He is described as tamias tn basilikn phorn, "administrator of the imperial monies," a position that seems to have been equivalent to the basilikos sakellarios. He was therefore an extremely high-ranking official with a close relationship to the emperor himself. () [3] Theodore emphasizes the high standing of her parents, Sergios and Euphemia, who died in the plague of 747/48. () [4] He was a zygostates, a position for which he was trained by his own uncle. () [5] She was the daughter of Anna, a sister of Theoktiste. () [6] ; for the poems, . [7] In fact Theodore clearly believed in the Pentarchy. () [8] http:/ / www. doaks. org/ typikaPDF/ typ009. pdf
References
Brace, Charles Loring (1888). Gesta Christ, or, A History of Humane Progress under Christianity (http://books. google.com/books?id=pxMqAAAAYAAJ) (4th ed.). New York, New York: A.C. Armstrong & Son. Browne, Laurence Edward (1933). The Eclipse of Christianity in Asia: From the time of Muhammad till the Fourteenth Century (http://books.google.com/books?id=esxCAAAAIAAJ). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Chisholm, Hugh (1911). The Encyclopdia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, Volume 26 (http://books.google.com/books?id=gJlvzd4MzSUC). The Encyclopdia Britannica Co. Hatlie, Peter (1996). "The Politics of Salvation: Theodore of Stoudios on Martyrdom (Martyrion) and Speaking Out (Parrhesia)". Dumbarton Oaks Papers (Washington, District of Columbia: Dumbarton Oaks) 50: 263287. JSTOR 1291747 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/1291747). Page, Kirby (1929). Jesus or Christianity: A Study in Contrasts (http://archive.org/stream/ jesusorchristian013486mbp#page/n3/mode/2up). Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Incorporated. Pratsch, Thomas (1998). Theodoros Studites (759-826) zwischen Dogma und Pragma: der Abt des Studiosklosters in Konstantinopel im Spannungsfeld von Patriarch, Kaiser und eigenem Anspruch (http://books. google.com/books?id=9HcQAQAAIAAJ). Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang. Speck, Paul (1984). "Ikonoklasmus und die Anfnge der makedonischen Renaissance" (http://books.google. com/books?id=Ck8bAAAAYAAJ). Varia 1 (Poikila Byzantina) (Bonn, Germany: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH) 4: 175210. ISBN3-7749-2150-4. Thomas, J.; Hero, Angela Constantinides; Constable, Giles (2000). Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents: A Complete Translation of the Surviving Founders' Typika and Testaments, Volume 1 (http://books.google. com/books?id=huh3WG-sqtUC). Washington, District of Columbia: Dumbarton Oaks Studies (Volume 35). ISBN0-88402-232-3. ( Online text (http://www.doaks.org/typ000.html))
External links
Selected works of Theodore (http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ephrem/theodore.htm), translated into English by Archimandrite Ephrem. St. Theodore of Studium (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14574a.htm), Catholic Encyclopedia article Theodorus Studita (http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/30_20_0758-0826-_Theodorus_Studita.html) Greek Opera Omnia by Migne, Patrologia Graeca with analytical indexes A Homily on Fasting and Dispassion (http://www.rocor.org.au/news/?p=161) by St. Theodore the Studite, to be read at the beginning of Great Lent St. Theodore of Stoudios Catechesis (Kindle Edition in Ukrainian) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SJ3I3U)
License
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