Theophanes the Confessor
| Saint Theophanes | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Confessor | |
| Born | c. 758–760 Constantinople |
| Died | 12 March 817 (aged 57-59) Samothrace |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 12 March (Catholic Church); 12 March (Julian Calendar for Orthodox Church) |
Saint Theophanes the Confessor (Greek: Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – March 12, 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac, imperial governor of the islands of the Black Sea, and Theodora, of whose family nothing is known. His father died when Theophanes was three years old, and the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V Copronymus (740-775) subsequently saw to the boy's education and upbringing at the imperial court. Theophanes would hold several offices under this patron.
He was married at the age of twelve, but convinced his wife to lead a life of virginity. In 799, after the death of his father-in-law, they separated with mutual consent to embrace the religious life. She chose a convent on an island near Constantinople, while he entered the Polychronius Monastery, located in the district of Sigiane (Sigriano), near Cyzicus on the Asian side of the Sea of Marmara. Later, he built a monastery on his own lands on the island of Calonymus (now Calomio).
After six years he returned to Sigriano, where he founded an abbey known by the name "of the great acre" and governed it as abbot. In this position of leadership, he was present at the Second General Council of Nicaea in 787, and signed its decrees in defense of the veneration of icons.
When Emperor Leo V the Armenian (813-820) resumed his iconoclastic warfare, he ordered Theophanes brought to Constantinople. The Emperor tried in vain to induce him to condemn the same veneration of icons that had been sanctioned by the council. Theophanes was cast into prison and for two years suffered cruel treatment. After his release, he was banished to Samothrace in 817, where overwhelmed with afflictions, he lived only seventeen days. He is credited with many miracles that occurred after his death, which most likely took place on 12 March, the day he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology.
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