Theodore the Martyr

Theodore the Martyr
Saints Theodore of Amasea and Theodore Stratelates in a fresco from Kremikocvtsi Monastery, near Sofia, Bulgaria
Born	Θεόδωρος
Known for	Sainthood

Theodore the Martyr was the name of a number of Christian saints. Two of the best known, Theodore of Amasea and Theodore Stratelates, were probably the same person. A variety of stories are told about Theodore the Martyr. Relics of Theodore the Martyr, including at least four bodies as well as body parts, were taken to Venice, where he is one of the patron saints, or to other places in Western Europe.

Theodore is a Greek name, Θεόδωρος (Theodōros), meaning "God's gift" (from the Greek words Θεός, (theos) "God" and δώρον (dōron) "gift"). A number of Christian Saints named Theodore were martyred. Perhaps the earliest recorded is Theodore, of Theodore and Pausilippus, martyrs who died around 130 AB in Byzantium, and who have a feast day on 9 April.

The best known saint called Theodore the Martyr is probably Theodore of Amasea, also called Theodore Tyro. The suffix Tiro means "recruit". Stories include a miracle where Theodore Tyro rescued a child who had been sold to the Ishmaelites as a slave, and an occasion when he rescued his mother from the jaws of a dragon. He refused to take part in a pagan ceremony, and then set fire to the temple of Cybele, near Amasya in Pontus. He was burned to death in a furnace as punishment. His sanctuary was established at Euchaita.

Theodore of Amasea was almost certainly the same person as Theodore Stratelates. Theodore Stratelates, also called Theodore of Heraclea, was a Roman general in the army of the Emperor Licinius (r. 308–324). He was either beheaded or crucified at the command of the emperor. Theodore Stratelates is an important saint in the Greek Orthodox Church.

According to the Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church, Saint Theodore the Martyr was a captain of the soldiers of the city of Setb, in the province of Asyut in Upper Egypt. A church was dedicated to him, and great signs and wonders took place through his body.Abu al-Makarim, writing in 1348, says there was a church named after him in Babylon, Egypt.