7. Life of St. Theodora of Thessalonike - Dumbarton Oaks

St. Theodora of Thessalonike 183
sen vessel, 117 said.” After instructing her with these and many other words,
immediately arranged for the scissors to be given to the priest, as is
customary. 118 And she was tonsured and donned the holy monastic habit, and
changed her name to Theodora. 119
22. But that wondrous confessor [i.e., Anna] continued to
counsel her on a daily basis, for she was distressed in her soul about her, since
she had a youthful body and a rosy 120 and beautiful face; and she was afraid
that the Devil who envies the good might impede her progress toward God.
But she rejoiced as she came to be familiar with good conduct.
For [p. 110] from childhood the discipline of fasting was ingrained in her by
long habit (just like breathing or any other natural process necessary to sustain
life), and abiding in her with desire became a condition which stayed with her
until death. Nor, as long as she lived, did she fail to advance in this virtue,
accomplishing it habitually, without compulsion and free of discomfort.
Therefore, desiring to increase this virtue even more in the
convent, and not being bold enough to ask the superior to
fast more than the nuns who had come there before her, nor daring to break
the monastic rule, lest she thereby give offense to the nuns, she used to sit in
the refectory with the nuns, but hardly touched her food. And often she did
not drink water for an entire week. But she did not do this for long without
the knowledge of the superior. For she [Anna] bade her to practice openly, as
best she could, this and whatever else was profitable to her, because
she loved Theodora, observing her extraordinary humility and the concern
that she had for her salvation. She used to examine her even in
are considered minor and insignificant, not permitting her to concern herself
even the slightest about that do not profit the soul, and she exhorted
her night and day to confess her deeds and her thoughts, her words and her
movements, and not to do anything without her approval.
23. Thus, whenever the Devil used to try to assail her with impure and
117 Acts 9:15.
118 Cf. Goar, Euchologion, 385, sect. 18–386, sect. 19.
119 Theodora, whose baptismal name was Agape (see Chap. 6), did not follow the
customary (although not obligatory) tradition of taking a monastic name beginning
with the same letter as her baptismal name.
120 “
Eu rodon, not in the dictionaries.