THE LIFE OF ST. THEODORE OF SYKEON

[An asterisk * indicates a note, keyed by chapter, at the end of the life.]

101

At that time there was a great drought in the metropolis of Pessinus and the fruits of the trees and crops were withering. Consequently when the men of that metropolis heard that the servant of God, Theodore, was the guest of the Bishop Aemilianus in the monastery of Aligete, they hastened to him. Their headmen (domestikoi) and the clergy and a goodly number of the people came to this monastery of the Mother of God-a distance of some fifteen miles-and after receiving permission from the Bishop Aemilianus they took the servant of Christ and led him to their own city in order that they, too, might entertain him and that by his prayers their country might obtain rain from heaven. Now there was a garden about six miles from their city, and in this garden was a swarm of locusts which were ruining all the young vegetables. When the owner of the garden heard of the inspired man's approach he ran a distance of three miles from his garden to meet him, and falling at his feet, told him of the damage which the locusts had done to his garden. Theodore said to him, 'Go, son, and bring me some water in a pot'. So the man ran and fetched some water from the river close at hand and brought it to him. After the servant of God had blessed the water, he gave it to him, saying, Go back and water the four corners of your garden with this and the Lord will fulfil thy desire'. The man returned to his garden with all speed, and did this; and when he returned to the spot which he had watered first, he did not find a single locust. He went out again in the evening and found in the same way that all the locusts had vanished, so he filled his hands with all kinds of vegetables and went out in great haste to find Theodore whom he recognized as in very truth a worker of miracles.

Now the procession from the city had met Theodore some three miles beyond the city walls. Whilst he was entering the city with the procession, the owner of the garden came up and fell at his feet and offered him the vegetables he was carrying proclaiming the wonder worked for him. When the Saint had entered the city the most blessed metropolitan George went to greet him and received him with joy; and Theodore, the servant of Christ, bade him announce a religious procession for the morrow. When the morning came the whole town was gathered together in the principal Catholic church of the Holy Wisdom. After offering up prayer the blessed Theodore and the metropolitan George with all the people marched in procession, singing a litany, to the venerable church of the Holy Hosts of Angels outside the walls. And there they read the Gospel and returned again in procession, singing a litany, to the church of the Holy Wisdom. The saintly man at the desire of the metropolitan celebrated Communion, at the same time beseeching the merciful God to send down rain upon their country. After all had partaken and had sat down to a feast, the sky became overcast and that same day rain fell so heavily over the whole of their land that for two or three days there were streams of water and the land to the west of the town was impassable owing to the flooding of the river; and they all rejoiced and glorified God Who shewed kindness to His creatures at the request of His servants. And so, escorted by the metropolitan and the citizens, the holy and blessed Theodore left the city and went back to the Bishop Aemilianus; from him he received the relics of the holy martyr George, which had endured much suffering, and after embracing him and taking his leave he quickly reached his holy monastery with great joy.

102

In those days Stephen, the Bishop of Cadossia* (which is under the jurisdiction of Nicomedia) came in a litter; for he suffered from gout in his hands and was paralysed in all his limbs and could not even convey his food to his mouth with his own hands, but his attendants had to supply his every need. He was carried thus into the church of the Archangel and fell at the blessed Theodore's feet crying and saying, 'Have pity upon me, servant of the most high God and amongst all the others grant that I, too, may have my share in your miracles; for I know that God will give you whatsoever you ask'. When the servant of Christ heard that he was a bishop, he was grieved at his act of obeisance and implored him to rise; then standing in prayer he besought God to dispel the bishop's diseases. After the prayer he ordered him to be laid on the right hand side of the church of the holy martyr George, that is, in the adjoining oratory of the holy martyr Plato (where Theodore's own cage stood), and he said to the bishop, 'Be of good courage, my lord, for I trust to the goodness of God to release you from this sickness shortly'. He also blessed and gave to him some oil for anointing himself and in two weeks the bishop was restored to health and after he had received the blessing of Theodore he left the monastery 'walking and leaping and praising God'. [Acts 3:8]

103

(Summary) A cleric, Solomon, and his wife, of Heliopolis, both troubled by evil spirits, were healed after a short stay, and in gratitude for their cure the man presented a picture for the oratory of the church of the Archangel where he used to sleep. Another man from the village of Salmania, afflicted by a violent and uncontrollable demon, came to the Saint who had him put in the stocks. By the Saint's daily prayer over him the demon was burnt out and disappeared, and in a fortnight the man was completely cured and returned home.

104

It was about this period that a severe famine prevailed at one and the same time throughout the whole country; the brothers in the monasteries, together with the guests entertained there, came to the end of all their provisions. This happened in Lent when the blessed man was keeping his retreat in the monastery of the Mother of God. Two days therefore before Palm Sunday, Dionysius the cellarer went to him and told him: 'We have no supply of wheat', said he, 'either for our own use or for the reception of the crowd.'For on Palm Sunday Theodore was wont to come out of his cell and a great crowd gathered during those two days. The blessed Theodore said to him: 'Go to the storeroom and sponge out the wheatbins; put what you find on a clean dish and bring it here.' When it was brought, he bent his head and besought God the Provider, Who readily hears men's prayers, to grant him a supply of food for the monasteries; and after the prayer he said to the brother, 'Go in and place this wheat together with the dish under the altar of the allholy Mother of God, and the Lord will send us food'. This was done and on the morrow some true lovers of Christ from a great distance came and brought him thirty large measures of wheat.

One day it happened that half the dough failed to ferment sufficiently, either because the flour could not be ground properly, or because the amount of wheat was insufficient; so the i man honoured by God came to the kneadingtroughs and blessed the dough that was fermenting in them, and through his holy prayer the troughs were filled with the leavened dough and it even overflowed from them.... (The chapter ends with the statement that influenced by Theodore's miracles of mercy many retired from the turmoil of life and entered both his and other monasteries.)

105

(Summary) Saint Theodore had much bodily suffering. From this we should learn not to be discouraged if we have to endure great pain or illness; it is God's way of profiting our souls; thus we should not pray for deliverance from weaknesses of the body. Like Saint Paul, Theodore had 'a thorn in the flesh' [2 Cor 12:7]-a wound which, as no attention was paid to it, grew worse, and, since it was rubbed by his rough hairtunic, bled profusely. This wound Theodore said was God's benediction; it would until his last prayer be with him, and for it he continued to give thanks.

106

In addition to this he was afflicted every year by a painful affection of the eyes which lasted about a month and a half in the summer season; for this suffering, too, he was thankful beyond measure, but it made him unfit for receiving crowds. On account of this affection he was inspired by God to travel to the church of Our Lady, the Mother of God, which is in Sozopolis.* For he had had the desire for a long time to have sight of the divine bounty manifested there; and it certainly was fitting that witness should be borne to him by the divine power displayed there, and that he should save some folk from dangers on his journey.

As he was approaching the bridge called Tautaendia, Pherentinus, the innkeeper there, heard that he would be passing, so he sent a messenger to meet him imploring him to enter the inn and leave with him his blessing, as he had been Lying halfdead for a long time and his face was twisted right round to the back.

So the holy Theodore went in to him and asked how this thing had happened. The innkeeper replied, 'I was standing outside my inn, sir, when a black dog came up and stood in front of me and yawned, which made me quite against my will yawn in the same way, and forthwith the dog disappeared from my sight ! Directly afterwards I was seized with fever, I took to my bed and my face was turned round backwards. Oh servant of God, help me if you are able to! For at the time when my beasts were all dying, after you had said a prayer over them I did not lose a single one'. When he had finished speaking, the blessed man prayed over him and blew three times into his mouth, and after blessing some water he gave it to him saying, 'Drink some of this and rub yourself with it; for the thing you saw which cast a spell upon you was a demon; but in the name of Christ I hope we shall find you well when we return from our pilgrimage.' And he left the inn and continued his Journey.

107

(Summary) As Theodore approached Amorion a child with crooked feet who could not walk was brought to him and healed. In Amorion the son of the 'illustris' John, a youth eighteen years old, who had been paralysed for three years, was carried into Theodore's presence. He had been hare-hunting with his father and at the second cast* his spear had stuck into him and the paralysis had followed. Theodore directed that the youth should be taken outside the city walls to the house of the 'illustris' Anastasius and laid in the oratory there, dedicated to the Virgin, where Theodore intended to lodge.

A procession met Theodore and prayers were said through the streets of the city until the cathedral was reached. Here the bishop, who through illness could not take part in the procession, asked Theodore to celebrate the Communion. On his return to the house of Anastasius, Theodore took oil and anointed the face, hands, feet and all the paralysed limbs of the youth; he then bade him stand up; 'Know', he said, 'that you are well, that your father may not be pained on your account.' The youth nodded his head and the Saint gave him his hand and raised him up and he was cured.

108

And leaving Amorion he came to Sozopolis; and as he was on the point of entering the church of the Mother of God, behold! there lay a man stricken of palsy by a demon, for the unclean spirit had lain concealed in him for several years and had not shown itself, for the everVirgin Mother of God was reserving this great miracle for her servant. At that minute the paralytic suddenly leapt up and began to be tormented and met Theodore with these cries, 'Oh violence, why have you come here, ironeater, with George the Cappadocian to my open shame? I have lain hidden so many years, and now through you I am found out!' and all who saw it were filled with amazement. But the blessed man rebuked the unclean spirit by prayer and by the sign of the Cross and cured him who had been paralysed.

Then he entered the venerable church of the allholy Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, where the Godgiven myrrh flows, and stretched out his arms, and standing thus in the shape of a cross, he prayed and steadfastly gazed at the miraculous* 'Icon of the myrrh' opposite him. By divine working, the myrrh gathered into a bubble and then rained down plentifully upon his eyes and anointed his whole face so that all who witnessed this divine testimony said, 'Verily he is a worthy servant of God'.

109

(Summary) On his way home after a stay of forty days in Sozopolis, where he lodged in the house of the bishop Zoilos, he passed through Amorion and stayed in the house of John whose paralysed son he had cured; he went to Germia to visit the bishop, Aemilianus, and on leaving him passed the inn by the bridge Tautaendia over the river Sagaris where the grateful innkeeper Pherentinus gave him a horse out of his stud as thankoffering for his complete recovery.

110

(Summary) Two ladies of senatorial rank belonging to the aristocracy of Ephesus came to Theodore's monastery; they were carried in litters with a large train of servants. They brought their children to the Saint to be healed; the one had a son Andreas, a young man of twenty who was dumb, and the other had a little girl of eight, who was paralysed. Theodore ordered them to stay a few days. One morning about the third hour he went out after the psalmsinging to bless and dismiss the crowd, as his custom was, and found the little girl lying in the church, so he went to her and signed her with the Cross and prayed over her. After dismissing the crowd he called to the little girl to come to him, and she arose and came. He also made the sign of the Cross over the young man and told his mother that he would begin to speak on their journey home. Some time later an acquaintance of the ladies came to the monastery from Ephesus and reported that the young man had spoken.