Saint Theodosia of Constantinople ( el, Ἁγία Θεοδοσία ἡ Κωνσταντινουπολίτισσα, translit=Hagia Theodosia hē Kōnstantinoupolitissa) is an
Eastern Orthodox nun and
martyr who lived through and opposed the
Byzantine Iconoclasm of the seventh and eight centuries.
Life
According to a biography published by the
Orthodox Church in America, Theodosia "was born in answer to the fervent prayers of her parents." When they died, she was sent to be raised at the women's Monastery of Holy Martyr Anastasia in Constantinople. She "distributed to the poor of what remained of her parental inheritance" after which she became a nun.
Martyrdom
On January 19, 729, at the beginning of the
iconoclastic persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
s, the
Emperor Leo III the Isaurian demanded that an
icon of
Christ which stood over the grand
Chalke Gate of the
imperial palace be removed.
[Mamboury, 299][Schäfer, 82] Anastasius of Constantinople ordered that the church comply.
While an officer was executing the order, a group of women gathered to prevent the operation. Among them was Theodosia, who shook the ladder strongly until the officer fell from it. The man died from his injuries, and Theodosia was arrested and brought to the ''
Forum Bovis
The Forum of the Ox ( la, Forum Bovis, gr, ὁ Bοῦς, meaning "the Ox") was a public square ( la, Forum) in the city of Constantinople (today's Istanbul). Used also a place for public executions and torture, it disappeared completely after the ...
''. There, she was executed by having a ram's horn hammered through her neck.
[Van Millingen, 168]
Sainthood
Following the
Triumph of Orthodoxy over iconoclasm, she was recognized as a martyr and saint, and her body was kept and venerated in the church of ''Hagia Euphemia en to Petrio'', in the quarter named ''Dexiokratianai'', named after the houses owned here by one ''Dexiokrates''.
[Janin, 151] After the beginning of the fourteenth century, the church was renamed for her, and may correspond to the
mosque of
Gül
Gul is a common name in Persian ( ) and Turkish () languages, meaning ''rose''.
Gul is used as a family name in Europe, Central and South Asia.
It is also a Nordic given name, used in Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian languages as a short form ...
. A gate in the sea
walls of Constantinople, the ''Gate of Hagia Theodosia'' (
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
: ''
Ayakapı'') was named after her church. It corresponds to the modern neighborhood of
Ayakapı, along the
Golden Horn.
Theodosia became one among the most venerated saints in Constantinople. She is invoked particularly by the infirm, her fame increased by the recovery of a deaf-mute in 1306.
[Janin, 151]
The Catholic Church celebrates her memorial on its original date of 18 July, while the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches transferred her commemoration to 29 May.
References
Notes
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Saints from Constantinople
729 deaths
8th-century Christian saints
Byzantine Iconoclasm
8th-century Byzantine people
Year of birth unknown
Byzantine female saints
Leo III the Isaurian
8th-century Byzantine women