Saint Theodore of Heraclea

Licinius, allowing himself to be persuaded by this letter and the account that the envoys gave him of Theodore's magnificence, set out immediately. The Martyr, having had a revelation of this, donned his precious garments and went to meet him. The Emperor received him with every possible sign of benevolence. But, when he had made his entry into Heraclea, he asked Theodore on what day he wished to sacrifice to the gods of the empire. The Saint begged him to entrust them to him for some time in his house, so that he might prepare to offer sacrifices to them in public. The Emperor, delighted by these words and imagining that he had already triumphed over Theodore's faith, immediately had his false divinities brought to him. But, as soon as the Saint had them in his possession, as they were statues of gold and silver and other precious materials, he broke them, smashed them to pieces, and distributed the fragments to the poor. It is impossible to express how much the Emperor, upon learning of this unheard-of action by Theodore, was stung by it, and with what rage he had the torments prepared that he was accustomed to use against those who declared themselves enemies of idolatry. But God, who never abandons his elect and who knew the dangers to which his servant was to be exposed, had, to strengthen his resolve and increase his courage, assured him of his protection by a heavenly voice, which had said to him: "Theodore, take courage, and trust in me, for I am with you." These words animated him so much that he offered himself to God as a sacrifice and felt within him a divine strength and an unshakable constancy to endure all kinds of torments. The Emperor first had him stretched out at full length, and in this posture, had him given five hundred blows with an ox-hide whip on his bare shoulders and fifty on his stomach. After that, they broke his body with cords tipped with lead, and tore his flesh with steel claws; then they burned his wounds with blazing torches and scraped his clotted blood with shards of broken pottery. Then, to give him a moment to breathe, he was sent to prison, where he remained for five days without food or drink: at the end of this time, the tyrant had him tied to a cross and ordered that his most secret and sensitive parts be pierced with a spit; during this cruel torture, they incited small children to throw stones at him, and the people to insult him and commit a thousand indignities upon his body. The Saint, amidst so many evils, commended himself to Jesus Christ, for whom he was suffering, making some loving complaints to Him about his torments, then he fell silent. Licinius, believing that he was already dead, left him tied to the cross; but, at the beginning of the night, an angel descended from heaven, untied him, and healed him completely, saying to him: "Rejoice, Theodore, and be strengthened in your Lord who is with you; do not say anymore that He is far from you; finish boldly the combat you have undertaken, and triumph to receive the crown of immortality." The Martyr gave thanks to God for his restored health and for the victory he hoped to win through the help of His grace. Meanwhile, the Emperor ordered two centurions, named Antiochus and Patricius, to bring him the body of Theodore (whom he believed dead) before daybreak, in order to throw it into the sea, to deprive him of the honor that the faithful would not have failed to render him. The centurions came to the place of the torture, found the cross where the Saint had been tied, and saw him himself free and enjoying perfect health. This event put them beside themselves, and their astonishment was greatly increased by the light of heaven that surrounded him: they wished to be Christians and recognized the divinity of Jesus Christ, along with eighty of their soldiers. Licinius, warned of these conversions, sent the proconsul Sextus, with three hundred men of war, to put to the sword those who had become Christians. These new soldiers marched with the resolution to execute the Emperor's command; but as soon as they had recognized the wonders that the Creator of heaven was working through Theodore, they wished to enter his service just as the others had. They were at the same time followed by a great multitude of people who cried out: "Long live the God of the Christians! He is the only true God, and there is no other." The cruelty of the Emperor had excited a kind of sedition in the city; the holy Martyr stifled it in its beginning, teaching the faithful that, since they worshipped Jesus Christ crucified for men, who had not allowed his Angels to take vengeance for his death, they should not think of avenging his. Nevertheless, the Christians would never abandon him, but followed him until death. As he passed before the prison, all the prisoners began to cry out: "Theodore, servant of God, have compassion on us!" The Saint, touched by their misery, broke their chains with a single word and sent them away free, saying to them: "Go in peace and remember me!" A multitude of Gentiles, who saw this miracle, received the faith of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, a great number of demoniacs, upon whom he laid his hands or who touched his garments, were immediately delivered. These things having come to the knowledge of Licinius, who feared a popular sedition, he ordered that he be beheaded. Theodore, having heard this sentence, made the sign of the cross over his whole body, begged those who were present to have him carried to the city of Euchaita, his homeland; and after having finished his prayer, he said goodbye to all those present and stretched out his neck to the executioner, who cut short the course of his life, on February 7, around three o'clock in the afternoon, in the year 319. Following this execution, his body was carried to Heraclea, with great pomp and ceremony, to be buried there; and since then, many miracles have occurred at his tomb.

The martyrdom of Saint Theodore was written by an author na med Au Augard Contemporary author and eyewitness to the martyrdom of Theodore. gard, who was present there, and who was requested by the Saint himself to write it and to have his relics carried to Euchaita to bury them in the inheritance of his ancestors, and to order that, when he himself died, he should be placed in his sepulcher at his left.

The Greeks have depicted Saint Theodore the General mounted on a spirited steed and with a thick beard, to distinguish him from Sai nt Theodore the Recruit. A saint Théodore le Conscrit Another Saint Theodore, distinguished from the General by iconography. dragon or a crocodile is placed beside him, as a symbol of the statues of false gods that he destroyed.

## RELICS AND CULT OF SAINT THEODORE.

His body was later transferred from the city of Heraclea, where he suffered martyrdom, to the city of his birth, called Euchaita, just as he had wished. This is why it was named Theodoropolis, that is to say the city of Theodore, and became very famous for the miracles that took place at the tomb of its martyr. Devotion attracted a large number of pilgrims from all regions of the East. The Emperor of Constantinople, John I Tzimiskes, believing himself indebted to the intercession of Saint Theodore for a complete victory he had won over the Saracens in 950, rebuilt with great magnificence the church of Euchaita, where his relics had been deposited. In Venetia, there is a singular veneration for the memory of the illustrious martyr, and he was the first patron of Venice, before the body of S aint M Venise Final location of the transfer of relics in 1200. ark had been transported there. One also sees in Venice the statue of Saint Theodore on one of the magnificent columns that adorn Saint Mark's Square. His relics are in the church of San Salvatore in the same city; they were brought there from Constantinople in 1260 by Marco Dondolo; the latter had received them from Jacopo Dandolo, admiral of the galleys of the Republic, who had found them in 1256 in Mesembria, an arc hiepiscop Mésembrie City in Romania (modern-day Bulgaria) where the relics were discovered in 1256. al city of Romania.

Surius reports this life in his first volume. The Roman Martyrology makes mention of this illustrious Martyr, as do the Greeks in their Menologion. The latter honor him among the Saints to whom they have given the title of Great Martyrs, such as Saint George and Saint Panteleimon.