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

St. Theodora of Thessalonike 203
time began to be measured by the course of the sun. The chronology of her
corporeal habitation and life is as follows. She was born
on the island of Aegina, and as an infant was deprived of her mother. At the
age of seven, she was legally betrothed by her father to a husband; then on
account of the attack of the Saracens, she emigrated with her husband and
father to our celebrated Thessalonike. At age twenty-five she was widowed,
and took refuge in the convent, where she spent fifty-five years in the cenobitic
life, contending in the arena of asceticism [p. 158]. She died in the eightieth
year of her life, during the divinely protected reign of Leo and Alexander,
our most Christian and orthodox holy emperors, in the sixth year of their
reign, 222 in which God was their helper; and at that time the most holy John
adorned the archiepiscopal throne in our city of Thessalonike. 223
46. Theopiste, who had been entrusted with the position of superior of
the holy convent, was truly the genuine daughter of the blessed ,
both by birth and in her behavior, and was possessed with divine love for her;
so she commissioned seven very pious priests to perform the forty days of
rites 224 that are held for the departed in accordance with the tradition of the
holy church, requesting that one of them come here each day to celebrate the
divine liturgy. 225 And the merciful Lord, Who grants heavenly glory to those
who conduct themselves during this ephemeral life in accordance with His
commandments, He Who is faithful in all His words and holy in all His works, 226
immediately worked a great and extraordinary miracle, which exceeds human
speech and understanding. And even if no other had occurred, I think that
this one alone would suffice to exalt and magnify the name of the blessed
all over the world. And indeed with these deeds He fulfilled for
us who are unworthy the words of the prophet, “The children of Israel shall be
222 Leo VI and his brother Alexander were co-emperors from 886–912; hence, the
sixth year of their reign would be 892.
223 The archbishop John is also mentioned in Chap. 4 of the Translation and Miracles
as having gone to Constantinople in August 893 to attend the installation of Patriarch
Antony II Kauleas. The 15th-century Synodikon of Thessalonike lists two Johns who
served successively as archbishop at this time; cf. V. Laurent, “La liste épiscopale du
Synodicon de Thessalonique,” EO 32 (1933), 301.
224 Cf. note 105, above.
225 Apparently each priest celebrated the liturgy one day a week.
226 Ps. 144 (145):13.