Theodora ( bg, Теодора) of
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
was the daughter of
Basarab I of Wallachia
Basarab I (), also known as Basarab the Founder ( ro, Basarab Întemeietorul; c. 1270 – 1351/1352), was a ''voivode'' and later the first independent ruler of Wallachia who lived in the first half of the . Many details of his life are uncerta ...
(r. 1310–1352) and Lady Margareta. She married
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander ( bg, Иван Александър, transliterated ''Ivan Aleksandǎr'', ; original spelling: ІѠАНЪ АЛЄѮАНдРЪ), also sometimes Anglicized as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor (''Tsar'') of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, ...
as his first wife. This marriage produced four children —
Michael Asen,
Ivan Sratsimir
Ivan Sratsimir (), or Ivan Stratsimir ( bg, Иван Страцимир), was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Vidin from 1356 to 1396. He was born in 1324 or 1325, and he died in or after 1397. Despite being the eldest surviving son of Ivan Alexand ...
,
Ivan Asen and Vasilisa. In 1345 Tsar Ivan Alexander divorced Tsaritsa Theodora and sent her into a monastery as a nun under the name Teofana.
She is considered the first known nun in Romanian history and in 2022 she was canonized by the
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
under the name of Venerable Theopahno Basarab. Her feast day was chosen to be 28 October.
References
Bulgarian consorts
14th-century births
14th-century deaths
14th-century Bulgarian women
14th-century Romanian women
House of Basarab
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
People of medieval Wallachia
Women of medieval Wallachia
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