St. Theodosia of Constantinople lived during the eighth century and was born in answer to the fervent prayers of her parents. After their deaths, she was raised at the women’s monastery of the Holy Martyr Anastasia in Constantinople. After distributing what remained of her parental inheritance to the poor, she became a nun. She also used part of the money to commission gold and silver icons of the Savior, the Theotokos, and St. Anastasia.
When Leo the Isaurian ascended the throne, he issued an edict that holy icons be destroyed everywhere. Above the Bronze Gates at Constantinople was a bronze icon of the Savior, which had been there for more than 400 years. In 730, the iconoclast Patriarch Anastasius ordered that the icon be destroyed.
The Virgin Martyr Theodosia and other women rushed to protect the icon and toppled the ladder with the soldier who was carrying out the command. The women then stoned Patriarch Anastasius.
Emperor Leo ordered the women to be beheaded. St. Theodosia, an ardent defender of icons, was thrown in prison. She was given one hundred lashes a day for over one week. On the eighth day, she was led through the city, being beaten along the way. Ultimately, one of the soldiers stabbed her in the throat with a ram’s horn, and she received the crown of martyrdom.
Following the Triumph of Orthodoxy over iconoclasm she was recognized as a martyr and saint, and The body of the holy virgin martyr was reverently buried by Christians in the St. Euphemia Monastery in Constantinople, near a place called Dexiokratis. The tomb of St. Theodosia was glorified by numerous healings of the sick.
Thank you for publishing the story of yet another saint I knew nothing about. I am overwhelmed at what so many brave people withstood in the early years of our Church.
So wonderful to read about the Saints of my Church , thank you .
Thank God for enabling the martyrs to overcome the attacks of hate by the power of the Christian faith. The ram, whose horn was used to stab our sister with must had been killed brutaly too. We need to pray for all the martyred animals and saints of the diffrent Christian Churchs so all of them can find their justification and rest in their Savior, Jesus. If we love God and the saints let us show it by going Christian vegans. Please visit: all-creatures.org and Christianveg.com.
God be our King forever. Amen.
Amen, one can but be inspired by such stories and at the same time reminded of the need to defend our faith from secularism and the encroachment of alternative belief systems from various groups.
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