Stephanos Efthymiadis

Notes on the Correspondence of Theodore the Studite

In: Revue des études byzantines, tome 53, 1995. pp. 141-163.

Abstract
REB 53 1995 France p. 141-163
S. Efthymiadis, Notes on the Correspondence of Theodore the. Studite. — Fifteen notes treating mainly questions of
prosopography in the letters of Theodore the Studite recently edited by George Fatouros. By reference to historiographie,
hagiographie and sigillographie sources several ecclesiastics and lay officials, active in the first half of the 9th century, are
identified with addressees or persons mentioned in the correspondence.

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Efthymiadis Stephanos. Notes on the Correspondence of Theodore the Studite. In: Revue des études byzantines, tome 53,
1995. pp. 141-163.

http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_1995_num_53_1_1903
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE
OF THEODORE THE STUDITE *

Stephanos EFTHYMIADIS

Scholars interested in the study of early ninth-century Byzantium

have now at their disposal the critical edition by George Fatouros of
the correspondence of Theodore the Studite. 1 It contains over
550 letters and covers the period 796-826, historically centred around
the Moechian Affair as well as the second phase of the iconoclastic
controversy. It is as a complement to this remarkable work of schol
arship that the following notes — prosopographical and other — are
intended.

1. The identity of the two brothers Grammatikoi (ep. 91 and ep. 151 44).
Ep. 91 is addressed to two brothers styled as Grammatikoi (τοις
Γραμματικοΐς τοις δυσί,ν άδελφοΐς) and has been dated by Dobroklonskij
and Fatouros to the year 816; ~ it is couched in an admonitory tone.
The addressees are portrayed as being in prison, tempted by the evil
doers and suffering persecution at the hands of a ruthless man (υπό
χειρών ανόμου) who has ill-treated the saints of the Lord. A further
reference to the two brothers in ep. 151 (Ναυκρατίω τέκνω) reveals that
this figure was none other than the future iconoclast patriarch John
Grammatikos, as usual hinted at by the biblical surname Iannes. In
this instance Theodore wonders if his letters have reached his address-

* This article was written in the course of a research grant provided by the British
Academy, to which I am particularly indebted. Thanks are also due to Professor Cyril
Mango for having read and commented on a version of this paper.
1. Theodori Studitae Epistulae CFHB, XXXI/1-2, Series Berolinensis, Berlin- New
York 1992.
2. See A. P. Dobroklonskij, Prep. Feodor, ispovednik i igumen Studijskij,
vol. I I/I , Odessa 1914, p. 211-213; and Fatouros, p. 224* n. 272-274. Disputing the
identification of the recipient of epp. 492, 528 and 546, addressed 'Ιωάννη Γραμματικω,
with the future iconoclast patriarch John Grammatikos and maintaining that Gram-
matikos is a family name, Fatouros postulated that the addressee in question could be
one of the brothers of ep. 91; see p. 447*-448* n. 878.

Revue des Etudes Byzantines 53. 1995. p. 141-163.

142 S. EFTHYM1AÜ1S

ees: άλλ' ό Κύριος ε'ίη βοηθός των τε Γραμματικών και του κυρίου 'Ιωσήφ
(i.e. the abbot of the monastery of Kerameon) και ούτινος άλλου πειραζο-
μένου ύπο του νέου Ίαννοϋ ■ οίσπερ και έπέστειλα, είπερ εύοδωθείη ή άπόδοσις
αυτών, πρότερον άναγινώσκοντός σου τας έπιστολάς (ep. 15144"47).
Apart from the hardships that they endured, Theodore also touches
upon the non-Constantinopolitan origin of his addressees, whom he
describes as being away from their countrymen and acquaintances
and consequently lacking moral support: ούκ έχοντες δε ώς οι πολλοί των
άθλούντων τους ημεδαπούς και γνωρίμους, δπερ οίδεν πλείστα παραμυθεΐσθαι
τους ταλαιπωρουμένους (ep. 91 17~19).
In view of the above data, it would be reasonable to identify the
two brothers in question with the well-known Theodore and Theo-
phanes Graptoi (775-845 and 778-844 respectively), who during the
Second Iconoclasm played a prominent role in the defence of the
iconophile cause. As is well known, the two brothers who were monks
earned fame as well as their nickname after the emperor Theophilos,
intending to ridicule them publicly, had commanded that their for
eheads be branded with pro-iconoclastic iambic verses. Disputing the
traditional dating of this event to 836, Treadgold has argued that it
was held at Constantinople as late as the 18th of July 839. 3 Whenever
their tattooing occurred, persecution and sufferings had befallen them
much earlier, soon after iconoclasm had been re-introduced.
Perhaps the oldest, though not fully trustworthy, source for the
early stage of their life is the Vita of St. Michael the Synkellos (BHG
1296), recently re-edited by Dr. M. B. Cunningham.4 This should not
surprise us since the education, wanderings and sufferings of the
Graptoi brothers were to a great extent associated with the various
activities of St. Michael. Alongside other non surviving documents,
the Life of the latter, in all probability dating from no later than a
generation after the Saint's demise (4/1/846), served largely as a
source for Theophanes, archbishop of Caesarea, who, towards the end
of the ninth century, composed the Praise of Theodore Graptos (BHG
1745z). 5 Along with other sources this Praise was later used in
Symeon Metaphrastes' Life of Theodore Graptos.6

3. See W. Treadgold, The Chronological Accuracy of the Chronicle of Symeon the

Logothete for the years 813-845, DOP 33, 1979, p. 187-189.
4. The Life of Si. Michael the Synkellos. Text, Translation and Commentary by
M. B. Cunningham, Belfast 1991.
5. Edited by J. Featherstone, The Praise of Theodore Graptos by Theophanes of
Caesarea, An. Boll. 98, 1980, p. 93-150.
6. For the dating of this Vita, see Cunningham, op. cit., p. 5-6 and n. 16 (where a
short recapitulation of the bibliography); on the dependence of the Encomium by Theo
phanes of Caesarea on the Life of Michael, see ibidem, p. 7-9; this view was contested
earlier by Treadgold, art. cit., p. 188 n. 138.
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 143

It was by divine will that Theodore and Theophanes, born in the

Land of Moab (Kerak),7 met Michael, monk of the laura of St. Sabas
in the outskirts of Jerusalem at the age of 25 and 22 respectively. At
that time Michael led a solitary life in a small cave. The biographer of
St. Michael relates that shortly after their tonsure the brothers were
taught "grammar, philosophy, and a number of works of poetry so
that in a short time ... they were proclaimed supremely wise and their
fame spread to the ends of that land ..." (ed. Cunningham, p. 52-53).
In more precise terms, Theophanes of Caesarea locates this training in
a school close to the church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem (ed.
Featherstone, p. 112). The anarchy and the sacking of monasteries
that followed Harun al-Rashid's death made many Palestinian monks
flee to Byzantium.8 Jointly with his disciples, the brothers Theodore
and Theophanes, and Job, monk of the Spoudaioi monastery, their
mentor Michael, now appointed synkellos of Thomas, patriarch of
Jerusalem, departed from Palestine. Initially intending to visit
Rome, the Palestinian monks remained for an unspecified reason in
the imperial city receiving hospitality in the monastery of Chora.9
Basing himself on a passage of the Metaphrastic Life of Theodore
Graptos, Vailhé has pointed out that this must have happened in
812/813, namely during the reign of Michael I, and not in 815 as
stated by the Life of St. Michael and the Praise of Theodore Grapt
os.i«
The proclamation of the Second Iconoclasm by Leo V the Arme
nian saw them by the side of the iconophile camp. Owing to their
opposition to the emperor's policy, they were thrown into the Phiale
prison.11 According to the aforementioned hagiographical sources,
the incarceration of our monks was preceded by an audience with
Leo V. It was before the much-loathed emperor and his iconoclast

7. See Featherstone, op. cit., p. 98.

8. Our main authority is Theophanis Chronographia. ed. C. de Boor, I, Leipzig
1883, p. 49915"31.
9. For this monastery, see R. ,Ιανιν, Im géographie ecclésiastique de l'empire byzant
in.I, Le siège de Constantinople et le patriarcat œcuménique. 3, Les églises et les monast
ères2, Paris 1969, p. 531-538; also J. Gouili.ard, Un quartier d'émigrés palestiniens à
Constantinople, RE.SEE 7. 1969, p. 73-76.
10. This may be gleaned from the letter to John, bishop of Gyzicus, contained in the
Metaphrastic Life of Theodore Graptos (PG 116, col 676B-C) τούτου 8έ άνθυπενεγκόντος,
τέως γοΰν ουκ έπί τοϋ Λέοντος ήλθετε ; Ουκουν, έφημεν · άλλ' επί του προ αύτοϋ βασιλεύσαντος ...
:

see S. Vailhé, Saint-Michel le Syncelle et les deux frères Graptoi. Saint Théodore et
Saint Théophane, Revue de l'Orient Chrétien 6, 1901, p. 327-332. In his Regesten to
ep. 547 (Μιχαήλ συγκέλλω Άγιοπολίτη). Fatouros. too, assigns their arrival to Leo V's
reign; see p. 481* n. 946.
11. This prison, particularly associated with the iconoclastic persecution, was pro-
bahly located within the Great Palace's enclosure; see R. Janin, Constantinople byzant
ine2. Paris 1964, p. 409.
144 S. EFTHYMIADIS

patriarch Theodotos Melissenos that the letter of the patriarch of

Jerusalem, supporting the iconophile doctrine was read out.
After referring to this probably fictitious meeting, our sources
speak of the visit that John Grammatikos paid to the imprisoned
Palestinian monks and his unsuccessful attempt at seducing them
into heresy. According to the Life of Michael and the Encomium of
Theodore, the brave resistance of the Graptoi brothers was followed
by their exile to the island of Aphousia, located to the west of Cyzicus
peninsula in the sea of Marmara, whereas Michael and his fellow-
monk Job remained confined in the Phiale prison until the accession
of Michael II. A different and more complicated account of Theo-
phanes' and Theodore's sufferings is presented in the Metaphrastic
Vila of the latter, which states that during the reigns of Leo V,
Michael II and Theophilos the Graptoi brothers were banished to a
fortress at the Black Sea mouth of the Bosphoros, the monastery of
Sosthenion and finally the island of Aphousia. 12
As recorded in the above sources, the tribulations inflicted upon the
Graptoi brothers during Leo V's reign are in accordance with the
various pieces of information to be drawn from ep. 91. Moreover,
their learning could well have justified the title of Grammatikoi; one
should not forget that Theophanes Graptos was one of the leading
exponents of the flowering of Byzantine hymnography, which origin
atedin the Greek milieu of eighth-century Palestine. 13 Thanks to this
identification we are now in a position to assert the veracity of the
hagiographical accounts relating the encounter of the Palestinian
saints with John Grammatikos which have been seen as fictitious. 14
Still, there is a minor point to be dealt with; the biographer of
St. Michael the Synkellos places the accession of Michael II after six
years had elapsed from the banishment of the Graptoi brothers; if this
statement is to be taken at face value, ep. 91 dates from 815 rather
than 816.

2. Ep. 11228-29: ό τής Δίου.

In letter 112 addressed Εύθυμίω Σάρδης, Theodore draws up a short
list of ecclesiastics who sided with the iconoclastic policy of Leo V;

12. A detailed presentation of what is recorded in the primary sources is provided

by Cunningham, op. cit., p. 14-15 and n. 45.
13. For a global insight into this milieu, see C. Mango, La cultura greca in Palestine
dopo la conquista araba, in the vol. Bisanzio fuori di Bisanzio, ed. G. Cavallo,
Palermo 1991, p. 37-47.
14. See Featherstone, op. cit., p. 98; the author of the Life of St. Michael the
Synkellos makes mention of a certain learned man who is not named and served as
Leo V's intermediary so as to persuade the Saints to accept communion with the icono
clastic doctrines; ed. Cunningham, p. 68-70.
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 145

among them were the bishops of Smyrna and Cherson, the abbots of
Chrysopolis, Dios and Chora, as well as almost all the abbots of the
capital. In their majority militant iconodules were to be found among
the abbots of Bithynia alone.
Both in his introductory notes (p. 233*) and his index (p. 867)
Fatouros holds that the genitive Δίου denotes the town of Dion in
Macedonia; yet, there can be no doubt that it refers to the monastery
(second in seniority in Constantinople), named, after its Syrian foun
der, St. Dios. This monastery was located in the valley of Lycus. 1Γ)

3. Ep. 163: Γρηγορίω κληρικω.

in this letter Theodore addresses one of the victims of the persecu
tion organized by Leo V. Gregory's resistance was however unique in
that he was the only clergyman in Constantinople not to have su
ccumbed to iconoclasm. This may be deduced from the aforemen
tioned ep. 1 12 where Gregory is also attested with his strange sur
name: ... εν κληρικοΐς ό θαυμαστός Γρηγόριος, ού έπίκλην
Κεντροκούκουρος ... (ep. 1 Γ232"33). 16 As a result of his perseverance in the
right faith, he tasted the bitterness of exile. As suggested by the
words έχει σε ή νήσος προίκα ορθοδοξίας, Gregory was exiled to the island
of Prokonnesos, in the sea of Marmara. For a variety of influential
Byzantines, laymen or ecclesiastics, Prokonnesos, like its neighbour
ing island of Aphousia, often served as a place of exile. 17 As may also
be inferred from Theodore's encomiastic comments, Gregory per
formed his liturgical duties in the church of the Holy Apostles :
... χαίρετε, απόστολοι Κυρίου ό θείος ναός καί περιβόητος· άφ' υμών γαρ ό
κήρυξ τής αληθείας, ύμεΐς τον γενναΐον άνδρα καί Ίερουργόν υμών οι καρ-
ποφορήσαντες (ep. 1 Γ216"18). 18

15. See Janin, op. cit., p. 97-99: and A. Berger, Untersuchungen zu den Palria
Konstantinoupoleos, Bonn 1988, p. 652-653. To St. Dios and his monastery at Constant
inoplewas dedicated the iambic epigram no. LXXXIV composed by Theodore the
Studite: see Jamben auf verschiedene Gegenstände, ed. P. Speck, Berlin 1968, p. 239.
16. See Fatouros, p. 231 and 258* n. 396. -
17. More details in M. Gedeon, Προίχόννησος, Constantinople 1895, p. 142-156; also
in E. E. Bai.sames-N. S. Lampadarides, Π ροκοννησίακά ιστορικά, Athens 1940, p. 43-
49; on its churches and monasteries, see R. Janin, Les églises et les monastères des grands
centres byzantins, Paris 1975, p. 209-212. F. W. Hasluck, referring to this island,
states: "the Byzantines generally write Προικόννησος, as from προΐξ, προικός, which is
apparently the derivation favoured by the Etymologicum Magnum on the ground that
the island furnished to all other islands a dowry of marble!"; see Cyzicus, Cambridge
1910, p. 31.
18. Fatouros (p. 258*) interprets this passage as "he has taken over the legacy of the
apostles and the martyrs of Christ .... For this church, see the relatively recent contri
butions by G. Dagron. Naissance d'unp capitale. Paris 1974, p. 401-409; and C. Ange-
146 S. EFTHYMIADIS

4. Ep. 466: Ίακώζω μονάζοντι.

Fatouros rightly holds that the addressee in question is to be di

stinguished from his namesake Studite monk, to whom epp. 189 and
328 are addressed and whom on various occasions Theodore admoni
shes,congratulates for his anti-iconoclast struggles or, what is more,
includes among the confessors of his time. 19 The James of ep. 466 is
cited as a confessor too and is alluded to as ευλαβέστατος μονάζων και
της αίρέσεως αμέτοχος in ep. 46240"41. In connection with the same letter
addressed Άντωνίω του Δυρραχίου which was also communicated to
James, the Studite abbot urges his correspondent to be strict in
canonical matters. Neither should one reside in a bishopric sullied by
the deeds of its holder nor share food with him until he is removed
from his see. In his opening lines Theodore wonders how a man who
had been raised to high status in the hierarchy, who had moreover
suffered as a confessor of the faith (ό ήθληκώς St' ομολογίας) can behave
in a self-humiliating manner and be carried along with the unholy. To
support his argument Theodore quotes St. Paul's letter to the Philip-
pians 4,15ff. : "Now ye Philippians know also, that..., when I
departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as
concerning giving and receiving, but ye only...".
However meager these data appear to be, an identification of this
personage with St. James the hermit and former bishop of Anchialos
in Thrace may be well founded. James is one of the iconophile Saints
included in the Synaxarion, where his memory is celebrated on the
24th of March. Nonetheless, the short entry, contradicting all other-
sources, records the sequence of James' life in reverse order: he
resumed his episcopal office after having led the life of a hermit.'-0
The same applies to the notice in the Menologion of Basil II, where,
however, the Saint is commemorated on the 21st of March.21 Under
the same date a Canon is dedicated to him in the Menaia; its heading
James'
bears theyounger
short note
contemporary,
ποίημα 'ΙγνατίουIgnatios
and was the
probably
Deacon
composed
(770/780-
by

lidi, Ή περιγραφή των αγίων αποστόλων άπα τον Κωνσταντίνο Ρόδιο, Σύμμεικτα 5, 1983,
ρ. 91-125.
19. In his Regesten, p. 271* n. 446.
20. Synaxarium Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae, Ada Sanctorum, Propylaeum
Novembris, ed. Π. Delkhayf·:, Brussels 1902, col. 558.
21. PG 117, col. 361D-364A. See also M. I. Gedron, Βυζαντινοί Έορτολόγιον. Μνημαι
των από του δ' μέχρι μέσων τοϋ ιε' αιώνος έορταζομένων αγίων εν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, Constant
inople 1899, ρ. 85, who is, however, inclined to identify St. James with James the
Studite and confessor, whose demise is recorded in ep. 441, Ύπάτω τέκνω (ed. Fatour
os,p. 620-621). See also S. Eustratiadrs, Άγιολόγιον της 'Ορθοδόξου 'Εκκλησίας,
Athens 1961, p. 207-208.
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 147

ca. 847). Apart from his brave flight from the world, James is glorified
in this Canon for his struggle against Iconoclasm.22
An adequate knowledge about his appointment as bishop and his
later days of retirement on Mount Olympus is provided by the bio
graphies of two Saints who were associated with him, namely Peter of
Atroa (773-1/1/837) and St. Anthony the Younger (785-1 1/1 1/865). 2:i
These sources agree in having him consecrated as bishop of Anchialos
in the time of the patriarch Tarasios (784-806). Interestingly enough,
in the Vita of St. Peter of Atroa {BHG 2364) his see Anchialos is
printed in the form Έγχέλι,ον and considered as belonging to the theme
of Macedonia.'24 This detail would offer ample justification for Theo
dore's reference to St. Paul's epistle quoted above. Since, in the wake
of the Nicaea Council (787), the episcopal hierarchy comprised many
iconoclastic sympathizers in its ranks, it was in the interests of Taras
iosto appoint individuals like our James.25 Owing to his spiritual
desire for isolation, James abandoned his bishopric and lived as an
ascetic in Bithynia, where, after the lapse of several years, he earned
a considerable reputation.26 It was on Mount Olympus that he strove
for the cause of icons and received the visits and the attention of
several monks and ascetics of this region. On this very mountain he

22. See Menaia IV, Rome 1898, 80-84.

23. The two versions of the Life of St. Peter of Atroa (BHG 2364 and 2365) by the
monk Sabas were edited by V. Laurent; see La Vie merveilleuse de saint Pierre d'Atroa
(f837), Brussels 1956; also La Vita retractata et les miracles posthumes de S. Pierre
d'Atroa, Brussels 1958. The two biographies of St. Anthony the Younger were edited
by A. Papadopoulos-Kf.rameus, Συλλογή παλαιστινιακής και συριακής αγιολογίας, Pravo-
slavnyi palestinskij sbornik, vol. XIX, St. Petersburg 1907, p. 186-216; and F. Halkin,
in An. Boll. 62, 1944, p. 210-223. St. James' commemoration in the Synaxarion and the
Menaia has escaped the attention of the editors, Laurent and Halkin.
24. Cf. ... και προς τίνα μέγαν ήσυχαστήν, Ίάκωβον προσαγορευόμενον, έπίσκοπον Έγχελίου
γεγονότα της κατά Μακεδονίαν έν ήμέραις τοϋ έν άγίοις Ταρασίου..., ed. Laurent, § 654 6
(ρ. 193); also Vita of St. Anthony the Younger, p. 20718"20. Note that the participle
γεγονώς occurs in connection with a Church or lay official who at some point was
dismissed or resigned from his office; cf. J. Darrouzès, Episloliers byzantins du
Xe siècle, Paris 1960, p. 67 n. 1.
25. Cf. Vita Tarasii (BHG 1698), ed. I. A. Heikel, Ada Societatis Scientiarum Fen-
nicae 17, 1891, p. 4032227; with no dates the name of James is listed in G. Fedalto,
Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis, I, Padova 1988, p. 316; on the bishopric of Anchial
os, see V. Laurent, Le corpus des sceaux de l'empire byzantin, V, 1, Paris 1963, p. 663-
664.
26. In letter 484547 (ed. Fatouros, p. 131) dated to 810-811, Theodore the Studite
refers to the abbot Stephen who along with 50 disciples was forced to move from his
monastery; he was joined by an unnamed bishop as well as 110 others. If James is the
bishop in question, as postulated by Janin, it may be supposed that his resignation
from his episcopate and assumption of the life of an anchorite were due to his opposi
tion to the official Church in the course of the Moechian Affair. However, Janin has
misunderstood the passage since he considers that the number 110 concerns James'
age; see Eglises, p. 148 n. 5.
148 S. EFTHYMIADIS

acted as spiritual counsellor and companion of Peter of Atroa and

Anthony the Younger. The greater part of this relationship seems to
have coincided with the reign of Theophilos. Leaving his hermitage
and accompanied by Peter, James travelled to St. Porphyry's monast
ery in the Hellespont as well as to the hermits in the Kalonoros
mountain in Lydia. Towards the year 835/836, fleeing from the icono
again.27
clastic persecution
Having maintained
in Lydia, close
they links
reached
with
St.Peter
Porphyry's
and after
monastery
the lat-
ter's departure for the better life (837), James took Anthony the
Younger as a disciple and spent the rest of his life with him. 28 With a
fair degree of exaggeration, the biographer of St. Anthony the Young
er (BHG 142) relates that James achieved invisibility by means of
impassivity and places his demise at the age of 120, still in the course
of Theophilos' reign. If this is true, James would have been con
secrated bishop at quite an old age. Prokopia, the wife of the emperor
Michael I (811-813), closely linked with James, hastened to acquire
his relic; to this end her curator was despatched, probably from her
private monastic retirement in Constantinople, but, owing to Anthon
y's intervention, the saint was finally buried in the monastery of the
Eunuchs in Bithynia.29
As discussed above, documentary evidence on James the hermit,
former bishop of Anchialos in Thrace, is in accordance with what is
recorded in Theodore's ep. 466.

5. The Studite Clement of epp. 30225, 43346 ~47 and 53859 60

In these three letters we hear of the Studite Clement, who first

succumbed to the heretics and seceded from his community
(ep. 30225ff , dated to 818), was then brought back to orthodoxy and
rehabilitated in his monastic community; in epp. 433 and 538 he is

27. La Vie merveilleuse, § 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 and 75. It should be emphasized here
against Laurent that James had never been abbot of the monastery of the Eunuchs, as
he notes in p. 1 y5 n. 4 (following Menthon). His mistake was due to the misinterpretat
ion of the passage of § 671619 : τοΰ γαρ αγίου τότε διανύοντος τήν όδόν και προς τό πλησίον
υπάρχον μοναστήριον τοϋ ήσυχαστοΰ εκείνου Ιακώβου προσαναπαύσαντος τοϋ αγίου Κηρύκου
όνομαζόμενον ...; Laurent translates: ...au monastère voisin de Saint-Ciryque, celui de
l'hésychaste Jacques, but the correct order should be "... au monastère voisin de l'hé-
sychaste Jacques, celui de Saint-Ciryque". As Laurent rightly points out elsewhere
{ibidem, p. 47 n. 4), James was too old at the time to assume any such duty.
28. In the Life of St. Anthony (BHG 142) St. James is attested in p. 2071830, 2082332,
21229, 2132729 and 21 410. In the first citation of his name (p. 20718) the editor mistakenly
prints hiin as John and not as James; cf. the emendations of P. Van den Ven, in
BZ 19, 1910, p. 312. In the version edited by Ilalkin, St. James appears in op. cit.,
p. 21320.
29. See ed. Papadopoulos-Kerameus, p. 213928.
 NOTES ON THE CORKESPON DENCE OF THEODORE 149

designated as Theodore's γραμματηφόρος as well as the most pious

abbot (ευλαβέστατος ηγούμενος).
As pointed out by Fatouros, in the course of Michael Ils reign,
jointly with Theodore the Studite and other prelates, the abbot Cl
ement visited St. Ioannikios on Mount Olympus. This event has been
recorded in both the Lives of St. Ioannikios by Peter and Sabas. It
should be noted, however, that in the text of Sabas, composed later
than that of Peter, Clement is not designated as abbot but as notarios
of Theodore the Studite.30
Moreover, Laurent has identified him with Κλήμεντί τινι, όσιωτάτω
ποί,μένί,, φΐ,λοθέω και φιλολόγω, a person that we encounter in the Life of
St. Peter of Atroa (§ 685"6).31 Clement was associated with Paul, fo
rmer bishop of Plousias in the theme of Boucellarion, who, on account
of his iconophile convictions, was banished to the region of Mount
Olympus. The Vita of St. Anthony the Younger informs us that the
same bishop invited the Saint to share daily lunch with him.
Moreover, it was at the instigation of a certain Clement, designated
as "best of the fathers and a living icon of the love of Christ", that
this Vita was composed.32 Following von Dobschütz's argument, Hal-
kin, the editor of its second version, has underlined all the traits
pointing to a text written in a Studite milieu; as regards the commiss
ioner, he opted for Clement, who in succession to St. Nicholas
became abbot of the Studite community.33 Nevertheless, since its
time of composition postdates the death of St. Anthony, calculated to
have happened as late as 865, this identification should be ruled out
for chronological reasons.

6. Ep. 487: Στ€φάνω ήγουμένω.

In the opening lines allusion is made to the blessed spiritual father
of the abbot Stephanos, who is described as having been very keen in
writing admonitory letters: Ή συχνότης των γραμμάτων πυκνουμένην

30. See Fatouros, p. 407*, who cites only the Metaphrastic Vita Ioannicii, PG 116,
col. 68B. See also the Vitae per Petrum, AASS Nov. IT, p. 404C and per Sabam, ibidem,
p. 357B. On the issues posed by both Vitae, see C. Mango, The Two Lives of St. Ioan
nikios and the Bulgarians, in Okeanos, Essays Presented to Ihor Sevcenko on his Sixtieth
Birthday by his Colleagues and Students, Harvard Ukrainian Studies 17, 1983, p. 393-
404.
31. See La Vie merveilleuse ..., p. 196-197 n. 4.
32. See ed. Papadopoulos-Kerameus, p. 1877"9: προτραπείς παρά της υμετέρας
θεοφιλίας, πατέρων άριστε και της κατά Χριστον αγάπης εμψυχον άπεικόνισμα Κλήμη...
33. See Halkin, op. cit., p. 203-209; that Clement was occupying the rank of oiko-
nomos before succeeding Nicholas in the abbacy of Stoudios is mentioned in the Life of
the latter (BUG 1365), PG 10f>, 912B-C; also in the Vita S. Evaristi higumem
(BUG 2153), ed. 0. Van de Vorst, An. Boll. 41. 1923. p. 3103035.
150 S. EFTHYMIADIS

δείκνυσι την άγάπην της τιμιότητας σου, πατρικω εθει έπερειδομένην '
κάκεΐνος γαρ ό μακάριος προς τοις άλλοις αύτοΰ κατορθώμασι, και τωδε τω
έπιτηδεύματι δημιουργών ην προς τους αδελφούς το της αγάπης καλόν
(ep. 4872"5, ρ. 716). 34 Could that person be identical to the famous
Theophanes of Megas Agros?
First, the adjective μακάριος appears to be consistently used by
Theodore when referring to the deceased abbot of Megas Agros.35
Second, in the Panegyric of Theophanes by Theodore the Studite the
writing of encouraging letters is noted to have been one of Theo
phanes' literary preoccupations.36
If the correlation of the above data is justified, our addressee may
be the person by whom the Vita of St. Theophanes (BHG 1787z) was
commissioned. This piece of hagiography in high style was penned by
the future Patriarch Methodios between ca. 823 and 832; this chrono
logy can be established thanks to a passage that the author repro
duces in his Life of St. Euthymios of Sardis (BHG 2145) and which, in
his words (...ώς και έν έτέρω λόγω προϋπεδείξαμεν παραγαγόντες ...), he
had used in one of his earlier works, identified by the editor Gouillard
with the Vita of Theophanes.37 The adjective στεφώνυμος, which
appears in the preamble, points to someone called Stephanos.38 That
he was an ecclesiastic, more precisely an abbot, and not a layman, is
made clear from several expressions suggesting that the text was to
be read aloud before a community at dinner.39 In the light of the
above evidence we may deduce that the addressee of the Vita of
Theophanes the Confessor is none other than his successor abbot in

34. This letter was dated by Dobroklonskij, op. cit., p. 472-473, to the years 821-
826; C. Mango and I. Srvcenko have postulated that the addressee in question was the
Confessor Stephanos, abbot of the Trigleia monastery, of whom we hear in the Syn. CP,
561; see Some Churches and Monasteries on the Southern Shore of the Sea of Marmara,
DOP 27, 1973, p. 238 n. 26. It may be that this was the abbot who together with his
community of fifty monks appears in ep. 4845ff to have suffered persecution in the
course of the Moechian controversy.
35. We may here list ep. 3963 (Μαρία μοναζούση); ep. 31 99 (Νικήτα ήγουμένω); and
ep. 291 12 addressed to Theophanes himself.
36. On this see especially Le panégyrique de S. Théophane le confesseur par
S. Théodore Stoudite (BHG 1792b), éd. S. Efthymiadis, An. Boll. Ill, 1993, p. 276-
278; mention is made of the letters Theophanes wrote to his sister who had become a
nun as well as those he addressed to the iconophile circles after Leo V had proclaimed
the reinstatement of Iconoclasm : ...ή συνοχή της καρδίας και ή δια γραμμάτων ομιλία
παρακαλούσα γρηγορεΐν, στήκειν έν τη πίστει ... (§ 9) and: ... γράμμασι μέν άντιβολεΐ ώς Ινα τών
διαγωνιζομένων και αυτόν λελογίσθαι ... (§ 12).
37. See TM 11, 1987, p. 59Me.
38. See ed. Β. LatySev, Methodii Patriarchae Constantinopolitani Vita S. Theo-
phanis Confessons, Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences de Bussie, VIIIe série,
vol. XIII, n° 4, St. Petersburg 1918, p. l2.
39. Ibidem, p. 2122.
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 151

Megas Agros. This statement can be confirmed by proceeding to a

further identification.
In the concluding section of ep. 487, after having dealt with the
issue of the acceptance of the clergy repenting from heresy, Theodore
informs his addressee that the brother Symeon had already been giv
en a response on the same matter, probably no different than that
contained in ep. 534. As it becomes clear from the following ep. 488
(κατηχητική προς τους έν Κυζίκω), Symeon was in charge of a commun
ity residing on the mountain of Cyzicus. 40 It is plausible to assume,
therefore, that the abbot Stephanos, then at the head of the neigh
bouring monastery of Megas Agros, was on familiar terms with
Symeon and his community. The identity of this monastery is, how
ever, uncertain. 41

7. Symeon the Confessor of epp. 332 and 534; cited also in epp. 48741 and
4882.
Having located Symeon's monastic activity, we are now in a posi
tion to examine the question of his identity. Five addressees by the
name of Symeon occur in the corpus of Theodore's letters; they are all
monks. Symeon of epp. 21-23 was a relative of the emperor Nikepho-
ros I (802-811) and apparently served as an intermediary between the
imperial court and the Studites in the course of the Moechian contro
versy.42 Epp. 8 and 26 are destined for two abbots by the same name;
devoid of any concrete prosopographical information, these letters,
composed prior to 810, give no basis for attempting any identifica
tion.43 Similar obscurity covers the identity of a certain Symeon men
tioned on Theodore's iambic epigram XCII.44
Furthermore, Fatouros is right in disputing the identification of
Symeon the monk of epp. 332 and 534 (also cited in epp. 48741 and
4882) with either of his two namesake Studite monks, also Theodore's
correspondents.45 The Symeon in question was another victim of the
Second Iconoclasm and manifested a monastic activity independently
to that of the communitv of Stoudios.

40. Cf. ep. 4882"3 : ...τους περί τον άδελφον Συμεών, τον εις κεφαλήν υμών τεταγμένον ...
and ep. 48828: ... επειδή τήν όρεινήν κατοικείτε... (éd. Fatouros, p. 718-719).
41. Un the location of Megas Agros and its neighbouring Cyzicus. see Mango-
Sevcenko, art. cit., p. 259-267 (with references to primary and secondary sources).
42. He is cited in Theophanes, ed. de Boor, I, p. 4932425 and the Laudation of Plato,
abbot of Saccoudion, PG 99, 837C; see Fatouros, p. 161* n. 82, and W. Treadgold, The
Byzantine
' Revival, Stanford, California, 1988. p. 131. 154, 405-406 n. 168. 409 n. 200.
43. See Fatouros. p. 150* n. 41, and p. 167* n. 99.
44. See Spkck, op. cit., p. 248-249.
45. See p. 350* n. 675, and especially p. 445* n. 874: in favour of this identification
argued Dobroki.onsku. op. cit.. p. 473-474.
152 S. EFTHYMIADIS

His struggle for the cause of the icons is attested in ep. 332, written
between 815 and 818, whereas ep. 534 refers to canonical matters.
Theodore compliments Symeon for not having lain prostrate while
confronting John Grammatikos, the leader of impiety (τω άσεβάρχη
Ιωάννη); and concludes by inviting his addressee to communicate any
information regarding the condition of himself and his holy commun
ity (... Οπως σύ τε διάγοις και δπως έχει και εξει τα της ιεράς σου
συνοδίας).46 In the light of this evidence, it would be plausible to
assume that this community was no other than that of ep. 488, dwell
ing on the mountains of Cyzicus.
To my knowledge, there existed at least two contemporary eccle
siastics bearing the same name: Symeon the Decapolite and Symeon
the Stylite, one of the three holy brothers native of the island of
Lesbos. Engaged in the struggle against Iconoclasm, they appear in a
number of sources which are worth examining in some detail.
The former was an influential personage who figures in passing in
three hagiographical texts. Chronologically first among them is the
Life of St. Gregory the Decapolite (BHG 711), composed not much
later than 843. It was in his native Isauria that Symeon offered spiri
tual refuge and tonsured his sister's son, Gregory, after the latter had
suffered his first vicissitudes at the hands of the local iconoclasts.
Separated for a long period of time, uncle and nephew maintained a
correspondence, until they met again in Constantinople shortly before
or immediately following Theophilos' death (20 January 842).
Symeon was then set free from prison after a confinement due to his
orthodox beliefs. He must have outlived his nephew and probably
was one of the informants of Ignatios the Deacon when the latter was
composing the biography of Gregory. 47
As indicated by two other hagiographical documents, the geo
graphy of Symeon's activity appears to have radiated beyond Isauria
and the capital. The Life of the Patriarch Euthymios (BHG 651),
dating from the tenth century (later than 932), supplies us with the
information that Symeon was the founder of a monastic establis
hment in Thessaloniki, a city that twice served as a respite to the
solitary tour of Gregory the Decapolite.48 As a wonderworker hailing

46. See ep. 33216M 34-3e, ed. Fatouros, p. 473.

47. For references to Symeon in this text see F. Dvornik, La vie de Saint Grégoire le
Decapolite et les Slaves macédoniens au ix" siècle, Paris 1926, p. 497, 51 27, 521 10, 71520.
For the dating of this text, see C. Mango, On Re-reading the Life of St. Gregory the
Decapolite, Βυζαντινά 13/1, 1985, p. 644-645; on the author and his informants, see
S. Efthymiadis, On the Hagiographical Work of Ignatius the Deacon, JOB 4\, 1991,
p. 78-79.
48. Ed. P. Karlin-Hayter, Brussels 1970, p. 5918"30, and 612830; unlike the second,
Gregory's first stay at Thessaloniki was not of a long duration; see Dvornik, op. cit.,
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 153

from the Decapolis Symeon is further cited in the last of a collect ion
of three miracles of St. Nicholas (BHG 1356) compiled, according to
Anrieh, its editor, in the second half of the ninth century; it recounts
the miraculous rescue of Symeon's disciple Nicholas, whose ship
encountered a storm when sailing off the sea-shore of Katabolos, i.e.
the coastal area situated immediately west of Kios.49 In view of the
course of his disciple's voyage, this text adds an interesting touch
regarding Symeon's location at the time; did Nicholas depart from
some point in the Cyzicus peninsula?
Whether a text of an early or a late composition, the so-called Ada
graeca SS. Davidis, Symeonis el Georgii in insula Lesbo {BHG 494) are
by and large a reliable source for the life of Symeon the Stylite (764/5-
844), confessor for the cause of the right doctrine. Whereas the eldest
brother David did not outlive the end of the eighth century, the other
two, Symeon and George, died much later, shortly after the official
return of Orthodoxy.50 Having spent the best part of his life on the
island of Lesbos, Symeon descended from his pillar in the early 820's,
in the years of Thomas the Slav's rebellion, and departed for By
zantium.51 On his way to the capital, he landed at the monastery of
Medikion, where he encountered its famous abbot Niketas. Later on,
in the reign of Theophilos, he was arrested and scourged by a certain
Cosmas patrikios; along with the tattooed Graptoi brothers he was
exiled to the island of Aphousia until the death of the iconoclast
emperor.52 The Ada depict him as having played a prominent role in
the restoration of icons assisting the empress Theodora and her sen
atorial entourage. On the very day of the celebration of the reinstated
Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of Lent 843, he was appointed synkellos
of the patriarch Methodios and was offered the spiritual direction of
the monastery of Sergios and Bacchos, which, on account of its fo
rmer abbot, John Grammatikos, had presumably a blemished rec
ord.53 Death, however, was not to meet him in the capital; dictated

p. 6315 (μηνών δέ τριών παρωχηκότων έκ Θεσσαλονίκης άπήρεν ό όσιος) and 556 (... ου συχνας
ημέρας). For the dating of the Vita Euthymii. see D. Sophianos. Ό Βίος τοϋ Ευθυμίου
(Vita Euthymii) πατριάρχου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως (f917) και ό χρόνος συγγραφής αύτοϋ,
EEBS 38, 1971, ρ. 289-296.
49. See G. Anrich, Hagios Nikolaos, 1, Leipzig- Berlin 1913, p. 195-197; also Π,
p. 381-382.
50. The text was edited by J. Van de Gheyn, An. Boll. 18, 1899, p. 211-259. See
also Sevcenko, Hagiography ..., p. 1 17-1 18 and n. 36; for a dating as early as between
863 and 865 argued A. Kazhdan, Hagiographical Notes, Byz. 54, 1984, p. 185-188.
51. See ibidem, p. 231-233; the evidence offered by this document was discussed by
P. Lemeri.e, Thomas le Slave. TM 1. 1965, p. 261-263.
52. Ibidem, p. 233-234 and 238-241.
53. See ibidem, p. 244-250; according to other sources, the office of synkellos of the
Patriarch Methodios for the years 843-846. was occupied by Michael Synkellos; see
154 S. EFTHYMIADIS

by homesickness or their wish to restore the proper veneration of

icons, the departure of Symeon and his brother George for their home
island was effected by means of an imperial dromon (δρόμωνος έπιβάντες
βασιλικού). They died in 844 and 845 respectively. 54
To Symeon the Stylite was not only reserved such a distinguished
place as a commemoration in the Synodikon of Orthodoxy; he is also
mentioned in a fragment attributed to the Patriarch Methodios,
which touches upon the sanctions imposed on the clergy who ac
cepted iconoclasm. In both documents his name is placed side by side
with two of the major spiritual figureheads of Second Iconoclasm,
St. Ioannikios and St. Hilarion, abbot of the monastery of Dalma-
tos. 55
At the instigation of a certain Symeon was written the lengthy Vita
of St. Euthymios of Sardis (BHG 2145), another work by Methodios.
In the preamble the author addresses him by the words άνθρωπε του
Θεοϋ και άγγελε των πιστών ναζηραίων, ώ Συμεών, τω οντι υπήκοε και της
υπακοής παιδευτα τοΤς σοι προσανέχουσιν ... indicating that he was at the
head of a monastic community.56 Whereas Gouillard, the editor of
the Vita, hesitated between Symeon the Stylite of Lesbos and
Symeon the Decapolite, Mango opted for the latter in view of Eu
thymios' provenance from Lycaonia, a region adjacent to Isauria.57
Couched in a convoluted style, this piece of learned hagiography must

Cunningham, op. cil., p. 1042831. In view of the novel XIII of Heraklios, only two
synkelloi could be attached to the patriarch at, a time, and these may have been
Symeon and Michael; see J. Konidaris, Die Novellen des Kaisers Herakleios, Fontes
Minores, V, ed. D. Simon, Frankfurt 1982, p. 62-72, esp. 6672 73. It should also be noted
that a seal dating from the ninth century bears witness to another abbot of St. Sergios,
named John, who was a synkellos too; see G. Zacos-A. Veglery, Byzantine Lead
Seals, 1/2, Basel 1972, p. 1135 (no. 2031).
54. Symeon died a year after his return to Lesbos, which occurred shortly before or
on the 8th September 843, when the two brothers celebrated the birthday of the Virgin
Mary; combine p. 253522 with p. 25511. George died on Holy Saturday in 845; see
ibidem, p. 258333e. The editor Van de Gheyn misdated Symeon' and George's demise
to 843 and 844; see ibidem, p. 210-211.
55. See J. Gouii.lard, Le Synodikon de l'Orthodoxie. Édition et commentaire,
TM 2, 1967, p. 53132; and J. Darrouzès, Le patriarche Méthode contre les iconoclastes
et les Stoudites, BEB 45, 1987, p. 54.
56. See J. Gouillard, La vie d'Euthyme de Sardes ("f" 831). Une œuvre du
patriarche Méthode, TM 10, 1987, p. 2145; references to the person at whose behest
this text was written also in p. 331«6 ie7 and p. 87957"959.
57. See J. Gouillard, Une œuvre inédite du patriarche Méthode: la Vie d'Euthyme
de Sardes, BZ 53, 1960, p. 43; cf. Idem, art. cit. (above n. 37), p. 15 n. 81; and Mango,
art. cil. (above n. 47), p. 646 n. 34.
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 155

have been commissioned by an erudite personage, certainly other

than the stylite Symeon.58
At the end of this survey, the question remains whether Symeon
the Confessor and correspondent of Theodore the Studite was one of
the two holy figures examined above. Whereas all the particulars
collected by the lengthy Ada of the three brothers speak against an
identification with Symeon the Stylite, they can, conversely, be appli
cable to Symeon the Decapolite. In the absence of further evidence,
however, no definite answer can be given whether the latter coincides
with Symeon, the addressee of Theodore. The same applies to Symeon
the commissioner of the Life of Euthymios of Sardis.

8. John bishop of Chalcedon: epp. 245 and 312.

Appearing in a good number of sources John of Chalcedon was
reckoned among the prominent ecclesiastics of his time; a former
member of the Senate, his secular surname was Kamoulianos.59 In
holy orders he manifested an iconophile activity (epp. 2451931 and
3122728), whereby he wore the crown of confession. His memory is
celebrated in the Synaxarion and in the Imperial Menologium of Basi
l II on 29 July;60 a still unedited Canon was composed in his honour
under the date of 18 July.61 Under the same date and jointly with
that of the patriarch Stephanos, former bishop of Amaseia, the name
of a John metropolitan of Chalcedon re-appears in the so-called "Syn-
axaristes of twelve months" compiled by Nikodemos of Mount Athos.
Whether he was the confessor of the Second Iconoclasm or a later
figure cannot be safely determined.62

58. Admittedly, the biography of Symeon does not yield much evidence of his learn
ing;it simply states that his elder brother David taught him the holy Psalter as well as
everything fitting to the monastic order; see Van de Gheyn, ibidem, p. 2182629.
59. Sources referring to John are presented in Fatouros, p. 300* n. 536; among
them Theodore's XXII Parva Catechesis (ed. E. Auvray, Pans 1891, p. 79ff. — BUG
2185); on his senatorial past, see ep. 2451718; with his surname he is attested only in the
Vita Ioannicii per Sabam, op. cit., 357B. Note that the same surname was borne by
Theodore the patrician, a dignitary attached to Constantine VI : Theophanis Chrono-
graphia, ed. de Boor, p. 46423, 46567 and 4682425.
60. The Syn. CP dedicates to him but a brief entry in col. 853-854; the same applies
to the Menologium of Basil II, PG 117, 565A; see also Eustratiades, op. cit., p. 237.
61. Among others this canon is preserved in codex 150 of the monastery of the
Transfiguration at Meteora (f. 172-174V); on this manuscript see N. A. Bees, Τά
χειρόγραφα των Μετεώρων, Ι, Athens 1967, p. 173. Prof. V. Katsaros has kindly informed
me that he is preparing a study on John of Chalcedon and the critical edition of his
canon.
62. See Gedeon, op. cit. (supra n. 21), p. 130; Idem, Πατριαρχικοί πίνακες, ρ. 349
n. 440; Gedeon is inclined to assign this identity to the patriarch John IX Agapetos
(1111-1 134); see also Νικόδημου Άπορειτοτ, Συναξαριστής των 8ώ8εκα μηνών τοϋ ένιαυτοϋ,
II, Athens 1868, ρ. 267. The whole issue was treated in detail by V. Katsaros, 'Ιωάννης
156 S. EFTHYMIADIS

9. Maria the nun.

That Maria was a close relative of Theophanes the Confessor is
suggested by a number of references emphasizing her links with the
famous abbot of Megas Agros. Since Theophanes' former wife, Mega-
10, is the recipient of epp. 292 and 323 together with Maria, it follows
that for an unspecified period of time Maria's religious life was also
associated with the convent on the island of Prinkipos; there Mégalo
took her monastic vows after a two year brother-and-sister marriage
with Theophanes.63 To Maria alone is addressed ep. 396 and possibly
ep. 331, if in the only concrete information about the virtue of her
family Theophanes' noble origin is alluded to.64 We do not know
when she was tonsured as the biographies of Theophanes fail to make
any reference to her. Her identity was first investigated by Pargoire
who on the basis of the expression ή μεν ομόζυγος, ή δε της ομόζυγου
όμαίμων (ep. 32341) concluded that Maria was either Megalo's sister or
her niece.65 Indeed, although the use of the word όμαίμων can be
urged as evidence for such an interpretation of the passage, it has few
arguments in its favour. When the learned Assumptionist proceeded
to this identification, he did not have at his disposal the oldest among
the hagiographical texts composed in honour of Theophanes, the Pan
egyric by Theodore the Studite {BHG 1792b). Referring to Theo
phanes' spiritual activity the latter relates his efforts to encourage his
sister to be strict with her duties and conform to her monastic devot
ion. Having not seen her ever since her reception in the monastic life,
the abbot of Megas Agros used to grant his spiritual support by means
of admonitory letters.66
The same troublesome behaviour must have been the cause of
ep. 396 composed shortly after the demise of Theophanes (12/3/818).

Κασταμονίτης. Συμβολή στή μελέτη του βίου, του έργου χαϊ της εποχής του, Thessaloniki 1988,
ρ. 115-118.
63. Both Mégalo and Maria are designated as αίμα και πνεϋμα... τοΰ άνθρωπου τοϋ θεοΰ
και κοινού πατρός (ep. 29234) or ή μεν ομόζυγος, ή δε της ομόζυγου όμαίμων (ep. 32341). It is
odd that Theodore addresses Theophanes' wife by her secular name Mégalo, and not
her religious name Irene; on her name and the place of her monastic tonsure, see
Panegyric by Theodore the Studite {BHG 1792b), ed. Efthymiadis, p. 272, and Vita of
Theophanes by Methodios {BUG 1787z), ed. Laty§rv, p. 152326. Note that Fatouros
mistakenly cites her wordly name as Irene, p. 329* n. 620.
64. Cf. ep. 331 lon: . . έχουσα και τήν οίκοθεν άρετήν εις κλέος σωτηρίας; Fatouros holds
that she is not the same as the relative of Theophanes, p. 349* n. 674.
.

65. See ,1. Pargoire, Saint Théophane le Chronographie et ses rapports avec Saint
Théodore Studite, FF 9, 1902, p. 53.
66. Cf. § 9: ούδ' αύτω έπέλειπον οι πειρασμοί νοητώς και αισθητώς άναπτόμενοι και μάλιστα
παρά της αδελφής άνωμαλούσης περί τό καθήκον, εφ' ώ και μάλλον ή συνοχή της καρδίας και ή δια
γραμμάτων ομιλία παρακαλούσα γρηγορεΐν, στήκειν έν τη πίστει, ύπομένειν, άνδρίζεσθαι συνθη
κώνύπομιμνήσκουσα ύπό μάρτυρι Θεώ δεδομένων καί — ώ τοΰ ακούσματος — μη άνασχομένω
ταύτην ΐδέσθαι έξ αυτής άφιερώσεως μέχρις άποβιώσεως, ed. Efthymiadis, p. 276.
 NOTES ON THE COHRESPON DENCE OF THEODORE 157

In order to avoid persecution Maria kept her vocation concealed from

the iconoclasts by wearing secular clothes; Theodore emphasizes
Theophanes' endeavours regarding her salvation and exhorts her to
persevere in the right faith. Interestingly enough, when reminding his
addressee of the time of her tonsure Theodore alludes to the evangeli
cal sword that physically separated Maria from Theophanes. ΰ7 It is
reasonable that this allusion would better accord with a relative by
birth than to one by marriage. Following this argumentation there
are now good reasons to believe that Maria was no other than the
sister of Theophanes the Confessor.

10. John of Sardis: epp. 157 and 451; also in ep. 41517.
On the addressee and the dating of these letters (probably also
meant in ep. 41517) see my article "John of Sardis and the Mela-
phrasis of the Passio of St. Nikephoros the Martyr (BHG 1334)", in
Rivista di Studi bizantini e neoellenici 28, 1991, p. 23-26.

11. Leo patrician and sacellarios.

Having thus far dealt with ecclesiastics it may be now worth inves
tigating the identity of several lay officials who corresponded with the
Studite abbot or are simply referred to in his correspondence.
The five letters (epp. 86, 293, 400, 478, 521) addressed to Leo as
well as the short reference to him (ep. 10610) span a period of eight
years (815-823) and are characteristic not only of the flattering com
ments on the beliefs of the addressee, but also in appealing to his
intermediary role between the emperor and the iconophile circles.58
The combination of the honorific dignity of patrikios and the office of
sacellarios in the heading of ep. 400 indicates that Leo was the imper
ialrather than the patriarchal sacellarios. It seems that Leo was one
of those dignitaries who, despite their iconophile convictions, con
tinued to hold high offices under iconoclast rule.
According to Treadgold, he is identical to Leo patrikios and sacellar
ios, a eunuch from Sinope, who, first appointed by Irene, in 802 sided

67. See ep. 396e~8 (ed. Fatouros, p. 551) : χάρις ουν Θεω, τω οΰτως ύμας δια τον φόβον
και πόθον αύτοΰ διαζεύξαντι άπ' αλλήλων μαχαίρα ευαγγελική σωματικώς και πάλιν τω ένί πνεύ-
ματι και φρονήματι συνάψαντι ψυχικώς; the allusion is to Matthew 10.34.
68. Fatouros (p. "221* n. 263) considers that Leo, recipient of all these letters, is one
and the same person, apparently older than Theodore; though the latter fails to offer us
any clues, the same Leo, styled simply as φίλος, could well have been the recipient of
ep. 98. The intermediary role for the official re-establishment of the veneration of icons
can be credited to him on the assumption that he was the personage who, soon after the
accession of Michael 11 (821), organized a meeting of the iconophile prelates with the
emperor; see Vita Β of Theodore the Studite (BUG 1754), PG 99. 31 7B and Treadgoi.d.
Revival, p. 231 and 423 n. 316. Fatouros assigns this role to Stephanos asecretis, the
addressee of ep. 419. see p. 399* n. 779; on this personage see below p. 160-161.
158 S. EFTHYMIADIS

with the conspirators who overthrew her; his long-lasting career in the
imperial service might have ended later than the official restoration of
the icons in 843. 69 Whereas this may be the case with this Leo, an
identification with the following two associated with the Studite
brotherhood has no arguments in favour. In the absence of any clues,
Speck rightly left in suspense the identification of Leo patrikios
occurring in six iambic epigrams of the Studite, with the one in the
correspondence. 70 A hypatos Leo is also cited in the Vitae of St. The
odore the Studite; yet neither his office nor the fact that he was later
tonsured and given the monastic name of Theodore allows the
hypothesis that he was the Leo in question.71
With the same combined title the same name figures in the two
Vitae of St. Ioannikios. Together with Agapetos the imperial cubic-
ularios and protovestiarios, a Leo patrician and sacellarios visited the
wonderworker hermit in his retirement on Mount Olympus to receive
his blessing. This visit, related to a miraculous liberation of a Byzant
ine captive from the Arabs, must have taken place at the beginning
of the empress Theodora's regency (842-856), when the fate of Byzant
ine captives taken at Amorion (838) was still unknown.72 There is
finally an extant seal bearing the name of Leo patrician, imperial
protospatharios and sacellarios, but Laurent was inclined Lo date it to
the second half of the ninth century rather than to the period of the
Second Iconoclasm. 73

12. Crateros, strategos of Anatolikon (ep. 38212).

In the catechetical ep. 382, composed in early spring 819, soon
before the exile to Boneta had violently ended, Theodore provides us

69. See Treadgold, Revival, p. 343 and n. 464 with the references to the sources.
The earliest attestation of his name is that in Theophanes, ed. dr Boor, I, p. 477lff ;
with no title but with the surname ό Κλόκας the same official recurs in Kedrenos,
Compendium Historiarum, ed. I. Bkkker, II, Bonn 1839, p. 291112; this was pointed
out by F. Winkelmann, Quellenstudien zur herrschenden Klasse von Byzanz im 8. und
9. Jahrhundert, Berlin 1987, p. 157.
70. See Speck, op. cit., p. 310-314; Leo the patrician donated an icon to the monast
eryof Stoudios; he was married to Anna until they both embraced the monastic life
and founded two monasteries; Leo was buried in a convent called "Ιγνοα. Ile is referred
to in epigrams 934, 1074, 1092, 1141, 115 and 1207.
71. He was one of the major informants regarding the miraculous deeds of the
Studite abbot; see Vita B, PG 99, 304D-305A-B; Vila Λ (BUG 1755), ibidem, 208G; and
Vita C {BUG 1755d), ed. B. Latysev, VV 21, 1914, p. 2922627 and 29378.
72. See Vila per Petrum, AASS Nov. II, p. 425C, and Vita per Sabam, ibidem,
p. 378D-379A where, however, the mention of Agapetos, the official who accompanied
Leo, is missing. Note also that Treadgold (Revival, p. 343) erroneously dates this visit to
Theophilos' time (ca. 838).
73. This is seal no. 757; on which see V. Laurent, Le corpus des sceaux de l'empire
byzantin, II, Paris 1981, p. 395.
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 159

with the earliest attestation of the dignity of the κόμης της κόρτης
(38213); in association with a parallel mention of the same title in the
Life of St. George of Amastris (BHG 668), this question was to some
extent discussed by Kazhdan and needs not detain us in the present
study.74 What concerns us here is the identity of a higher official,
Crateros, strategos of the theme of Anatolikon, designated in
ep. 38212 by the participle στρατηγοΰντα.
The discovery of a Studite Catechesis propounding the iconophile
doctrines met with the virulent reaction of Leo V; the strategos of the
theme of Anatolikon was ordered to send the comes cortes to investi
gate the Studite abbot about this matter. After their dwelling had
been thoroughly searched, Nicholas and Theodore were flogged; the
latter was seriously injured. With the full date of the 23th of Febru
ary this event is repeated in the so-called Vita Β of Theodore by the
monk Michael (BHG 1754), where, however, the strategos, named Cra
teros, is presented as having personally been involved in inflicting the
tortures. 75
Sources pertaining to the early ninth century record three military
dignitaries named Crateros; they have been examined by Winkel
mann, who surmised that the Crateroi were an influential family of
the military aristocracy.76 First, a strategos of the theme of the
Cibyrrhaeots who made an unsuccessfull attempt to take Crete back
from the Arabs; escaping slaughter he was despatched to the island of
Cos in the Dodecanese, where soon afterwards the Saracens seized
him; he eventually met a violent death by crucifixion. Such Byzant
ineauthors as Genesios, Theophanes' Continuers and Pseudo-
Symeon assign this expedition to the late years of the reign of
Michael II (autumn of 828), but Tsougarakis has recently argued for a
dating within the reign of Theophilos. 77 Second, Crateros protospath-
arios and strategos of Thrace who owned an extant seal dated to the

74. See A. Kazhdan, Hagiographieal Notes, Byz. 56, 1986, p. 148-149 and n. 5.
75. See PG 99, 296A-C; further but shorter references to the same event are made in
the Vita Λ, ibidem, 200 A -("I ; Vila C, ed. Latysev, IT 21 1914. p. 288929; Vila of
St. Nicholas the Studite (BHG 1365), PG 105, 884B. Note that both in his Regesten
.

(p. 374*) and the apparatus (p. 526) Fatouros wrongly prints that the comes cortes. and
not the strategos, was named Crateros.
76. See op. cil., p. 163.
77. Primary sources in Genesios, ed. A. Lf.smueixer-Wif.nf.r and ,J. Thurn, Berlin
1978, p. 34; Theophanis Continuatus, ed. I. Bekkkr, Bonn 1838, p. 79-80 and Pseudo-
Syrneon, ibidem, p. 623. Crateros' unsuccessful attempt came after the joint (and un
suc es ful) attack of Photeinos and Damianos: see Treadgoi.d. Revival, p. 254 and 429
n. 355, who dates this event to the autumn of 828; for a conflicting view, see D. Tsui -
c;arakis. Byzantine Crete, Athens 1988, p. 41-44.
160 S. EFTHYMIADIS

8/9th century. 78 Third, the well-known eunuch Theodore Grateros,

who as patrikios and protospatharios defended Amorion in 883 and
turned out to be the leading figure among the 42 Byzantine captives
who were martyred in 845. 79
That the Crateroi were a distinguished family enjoying worldly
honour can also be inferred from a splendid house at Constantinople
which, according to a glossed notice of the Suda, belonged to a certain
Crateros, later became the residence of Romanos Lakapenos, the
future emperor (920-944), and finally was converted into a convent
called Myrelaion. 80
Whereas an identification of our strategos with Theodore Crateros
has no arguments in its favour, chronological proximity may suggest
that the two strategoi of the Cibyrrhaeots and of Anatolikon were one
and the same person.81

13. Stephanos asecretis (ep. 419) and Stephanos magistros (ep. 420).
Both Stephanoi seem to have been devoted iconophiles who had
occupied a high post in the imperial bureaucracy during and before
Michael II's reign. Soon after the accession of the latter (821), Theo
dore urges them to influence the emperor in favour of the restoration
of the icons. 82

78. See P. Maas, BZ 20, 1911, p. 613, quoting K. Regung, Byzantinische Bleisie
gel, Mémoires du congrès international de Numismatique, Brussels 1910, p. 39-45 (not
accessible to me).
79. See V. Vasii.'evskij - P. Nikitin, Skazanija ο 42 Amorijskich mucenikach i cer-
kounaja sluzba im, Mémoires de Γ Académie impériale des sciences de St. Pétersbourg,
VIIIe série, VI 1/2, St. Petersburg 1905, passim; F. Halkin, Ilagiologie byzantine, Brus-
sels 1986, p. 158; also the recent study by S. Kotzabassi, To Μαρτύριο των MB' Μαρτύρων
τοϋ 'Αμορίου : αγιολογικά και ύμνολογικα κείμενα, 'Επιστημονική Έπετηρίς της Φιλοσοφικής
Σχολής τοϋ 'Αριστοτελείου Πχνεπιστημίου Θεσσαλονίκης 2, 1992, ρ. 147 (§ 367'8) and 151.
Note that, far from being uniform, the nine texts (BMG 1209- 121 4b) relating the
exploits of the 42 Martyrs assign to Theodore Crateros a variety of offices; on this see
Vasil'evskij- Nikitin, p. 203-205.
80. For the entry of the Suda, this house and its possible owners, see C. Mango, Le
développement urbain de Constantinople ( ive-vw siècles), Paris 1990, p. 59 and n. 49-50;
for the gloss of the Suda, see also A. Steiner, Byzantinisches im Wortschatz der Suda,
in Studien zur Byzantinischen Lexikographie, Vienna 1988, p. 164.
81. It should be noted that in ep. 407 (Ναυκρατίω τέκνω), written in May or July 819,
after Theodore was transferred from Boneta to Smyrna, mention is made of a person
presiding over "the five themes": ... και άνατίθεσθαι τους της εξαρχίας λόγους (έπί γαρ πέντε
θεμάτων τέθειται) ... (ep. 40752'53). This difficult passage was interpreted as referring to a
monostrategos who was responsible for a large military sphere by J. B. Bury, in A
History of the Eastern Roman Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil I
(A.D. 802-867), London 1912, p. 10 n. 4. If Bury is right in his interpretation, this
person could be identical to our Crateros.
82. See ep. 41 947 : λάλησον αγαθά εις τας τιμίας άκοας τοΰ ευσεβούς βασιλέως ημών;
ep. 42029"30: ... έφ' δσον ισχύς λάλησον εις τα ώτα τοΰ εύσεβοϋς ημών βασιλέως έτι αγαθά; both
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 161

If the addressee of ep. 419 is no different from Stephanos asecretis

of ep. 5, dating from 796 and touching on the Moechian Affair, as
Fatouros is inclined to suggest (p. 148* n. 30), we may not only haz
ard the guess that his administrative career spanned a period of thirty
years, but also assign to him the seal no. 3184 of Zacos-Veglery, dat
ing from the eighth century.83 Nonetheless, given the evidence of a
text quoted above, this career must not have had a happy end.
Indeed, the biographer of St. Michael the Synkellos refers to a certain
Stephanos asecretis who was on familiar terms with the Saint and his
disciples and "was advised by them concerning the orthodox teach
ings". It was after the accession of Theophilos that he was denounced
to the emperor as being orthodox. Unable to endure the subsequent
sufferings, he succumbed to the heresy; yet, thanks to the encourag
ing letters of Michael, he showed repentance and confessed that Christ
should be venerated in icons. Finally, along with the spatharios Kal-
lonas, another noble and learned man, he was condemned to banish
mentand his property was confiscated.84
Some further information about Stephanos asecretis is to be drawn
from ep. 54 which Ignatios the Deacon addressed Μεθοδίω τω
άγιωτάτω πατριάρχη. In writing this letter Ignatios was prompted by
the following matter. Having inherited a book of Gospels from his
brother, he gave it to Stephanos, who (now transported to the realm
of the blessed) at that time was conspicuous among the imperial secre
taries (δς έν τοις βασιλικοΐς ύπογραφεΰσι το τηνικάδε προέλαμπε); requested
by Stephanos for the purpose of collation (προς μεταβολήν), it was lent
anew to Michael, the bishop of Synada, who failed to return it, due to
his unexpected demise (known to have occurred in May 826). Ignat
ios, writing between 843 and 847, is asking the patriarch Methodios
to intervene and demand it back from the bishop of Hierapolis who
then had it in his possession. Expelled from his post after the
enthronement of Theophilos, Stephanos did not presumably survive
the restoration of icons (842). 85

letters date from early 821 . Note that Stephanos asecretis is particularly alluded to as a
man of learning; see ep. 4191011: ... τον σοφόν άνδρα και διεγνωσμένον έν ευσέβεια...
83. See Zacos-Veglery, op. cit., 1/3, Basel 1972, p. 1775-1776.
84. See The Life of Michael the Synkellos, ed. Cunningham, p. 74257822.
85. See M. I. Gedeon, Νέα βιβλιοθήκη εκκλησιαστικών συγγραφέων, I/I, Constantinople
1903, col. 52-53; his sufferings during the reign of Theophilos give no support to the
hypothesis that our Stephanos is identifiable with Stephanos asecretis, surnamed Kapi-
tolites, recorded as a poet at the court of the same emperor in ca. 838, in Theoph. Cont.,
p. 143. The latter may have been identical to a learned correspondent of Photios: see
ep. 214, Στέφανοι όρθοδοξήσαντι, ed. Β. Laourdas-L. G. Westerink, II, Leipzig 1984,
p. 117-119. According to the editors this letter dates from Photios' first patriarchate
(858-867).
162 S. EFTHYMIADIS

Before tackling the issue of the official veneration of icons, Theo

dore in ep. 420 expresses his sympathy to Stephanos magistros for the
death of his wife. This Stephanos was probably the same person who
appears in the Vitae Ioannicii by Peter and Sabas where he is cited as
τοϋ ποτέ γεγονότος μαγίστρου and του πατρικίου και μαγίστρου respec
tively.86 Suffering from a mental disease resulting from poisoning
caused by her servants, Stephanos' wife visited the Saint in his retir
ement close to the monastery of Antidion, and was miraculously
healed. In the older Life by Peter this miraculous healing is recounted
after the aforementioned visit of Leo sacellarios, i.e. later than the
death of Theophilos. In a slightly different historical context, that of
the iconoclastic persecution of Theophilos, the same visit is alluded to
in the Life by Sabas. It becomes evident, therefore, that this incident,
if related in a chronologically reliable sequence in both Vitae, is con
tradictory to ep. 420, bearing witness to the demise of Stephanos'
spouse. Unless the one who visited Ioannikios is his wife by a second
marriage, there are reasons to suppose that the addressee of ep. 420
was other than his namesake documented in the Vitae Ioannicii.

14. Democharis general logothete, then strategos.

Under iconoclast rule and despite his iconophile convictions, Democ
haris held the dignity of general logothete and was a correspondent
both of Theodore the Studite (ep. 426) and Ignatios the Deacon
(epp. 21-24). 87 Worthy of attention is the letter of condolence to his
widow (τη όμόζυγι Δημόχαρι — ep. 454) which allows us to establish
that our dignitary did not survive the Studite abbot (d. 11/11/826).
This letter yields evidence that, in addition to serving as λογοθέτης του
γενικού, Democharis must have enjoyed a distinguished military
career, hence the expression του μακαρίου στρατηγού that we encounter
in the opening words (ep. 4522). Nonetheless, it is hard to determine
when this office was held by him. Both the explicit references of
Theodore to his education and the convoluted diction in which Igna
tios writes to him, speak of the high degree of culture their corre
spondent enjoyed.88 In letter 24 the latter makes it clear that his
addressee was forced to withdraw from his official duties; Treadgold

86. See AASS Nov. II, 427A-B and 364C; Fatouros (p. 400* n. 781) cites only the
Metaphrastic Vila (BUG 937), PG 1 16, 73D, where Stephanos is described as one of the
magistroi of that time.
87. For Ignatios' letters addressed to Democharis, see Gedeon, Νέα βιβλιοθήκη ...,
col. 21-27; C. Mango, Observations on the Correspondence of Ignatius, Metropolitan of
Nicaea (first half of the ninth century), Überlieferungsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen,
p. 408 [= Byzantium and its Image, London 1984, XII].
88. See ep. 45426~27: και γαρ εκείνος καί γνωστικός και σοφός και παιδευτής των άμυήτων ...;
ed. Fatouros, p. 644.
 NOTES ON THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THEODORE 1^3

has speculated that his rank was taken over by another correspondent
of Theodore, Pantoleon, heretofore logothetes. 89
By recourse to the corpus of letters of the Patriarch Photios, we
may speculate that Democharis was also related to one of his corre
spondents; his ep. 49 is addressed 'Ιωάννη πατρικίω και σακελλαρίω τω
κατά τον Δημόχαριν.90 The preposition κατά followed by a name in the
accusative meant "in the service of" in the early Byzantine period,
but already by the late eighth century it must have denoted associa
tion with a particular household or family.91

15. An additional witness to ep. 532.

Before concluding this study we may note that folios 305-306v of

cod. Ε 169 of the monastery of Lavra on Mount Athos have inde
pendently preserved the text of ep. 532; 92 this manuscript, which on
paleographical grounds should be dated to the 13th century, gives the
following heading: Μιχαήλ και Θεοφίλω βασιλεΰσι απολογία τέ και προσ-
φώνησις. 93

Stephanos Efthymiadis
Center for Byzantine Studies
Dumbarton Oaks

89. See Treadgoi.d, Revival, p. 427 n. 341; to the logothetes Pantoleon are addres
sed epp. 425 and 523.
90. Ed. B. Laourdas-L. G. Westerink, I, Leipzig 1983, p. 94.
91. See A. Cameron, Cyril of Scythopolis, V. Sabae 53; a Note on κατά in Late
Greek, Glotta 56, 1978, p. 92-93; also cf. P. Wirth, Nikolaos ό τοϋ Καταφλώρον und nicht
ό κατά Φλώρον, Eustathios ό τοϋ Καταφλώρον und nicht Eustathios ό του κατά Φλώρον,
ΒΖ 56, 1963, ρ. 235-236 [= Eustathiana . Amsterdam 1980, p. 5-6]. The name of Kanta-
kouzenos'
family was probably formed after a similar construction: see D. M. Nicoi.,
The Byzantine Family of Kanlakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) ca. 1100-1460, Washington D.C.
1968, p. vni-ix. E. Patlagean is mistaken in suggesting that already by the eighth
century its precise connotation was that of the name of the father; see Les débuts de
l'aristocratie byzantine et le témoignage de l'historiographie: système des noms et liens
de parenté aux ixe-xe siècles, The Byzantine Aristocracy ix to xui Centuries, éd.
M. Angoid, Oxford 1984, p. 33.
92. See Fatouros, p. 795-804; this letter is datable to the year 826; see ibidem,
p. 473* and n. 925.
93. On this manuscript, see S. Eustratiades, Κατάλογος των κωδίκων της Μεγίστης
Λαύρας..., Cambridge - Paris 1925. p. 95-96; also Idem, Συμπλήρωμα 'Αγιορείτικων
καταλόγων Βχζοπεδίου και Aaupac. Paris 1930, p. 35. Note that Eustratiades misdates it
to the 15th century.