sempozyum_bildiri_kitabi

from worldly degradation” and allow her to stay by him; in her case, both the Saint and her family
tried to persuade her otherwise, but to no avail, therefore he allowed her to stay along with
Elefthera. Another woman, the wife of a wild beasts’ tamer, was to join them.
“After a while he [St. Auxentios] dressed them up with proper ascetic vestments, that is, itchy
hairy tunics and large mafortia”, 26 so that “everyone facing such a trial would be moved; for, up to
then, there had never been this kind of monastic attire in the area”. And, thus, one of the first
nunneries in Bithynia, that of Trichinarea, was founded at around AD 460.
Iconoclasm ‐ Women saints of the resistance
Iconoclasm or Iconomachy (mache, battle in Greek, against the icons) was introduced by emperor
Leon III the Isaurian and sustained by his successors for more than a century (AD 726‐842). Under the
influence of Middle‐Eastern religious doctrines, predominantly Judaism and Islam, and the debates
about the two natures of Christ, the use of icons in religious life was proclaimed against God’s will,
causing natural and humanly‐induced disasters on God’s empire, such as internal strife and the loss
of territories to followers of other religions or denominations. A large part of the clergy as well as of
lay people, especially women, objected to this stand, defending the age‐old tradition of the icons in
the Christian world, only to find themselves under persecution. 27
I. St. Anna the Nun, a spiritual daughter of the martyr St. Stephanos the New (mid‐8th c.)
One of the most renowned opponents of Iconomachy, and finally a martyr, was St. Stephanos the
New, 28 who lived on Mt. of Auxentios, in Bithynia. His reputation attracted many visitors, among
them a pious woman of noble descent, a childless widow from Constantinople, who wished to
become a nun. According to the narration, 29 St. Stephanos guided her in the distribution of her
property to the needy and in giving up every attitude connected to lay life. Having accomplished that,
she was accepted in the ranks of the nuns by the Saint, who –becoming her second godfather–
named her Anna and placed her at the “lower” nunnery, i.e. that of Trichinarea. 30
II. St. Theoktisti, spiritual daughter of her brother St. Plato and
of her son St. Theodoros Stouditis, spiritual leader of her family (late 8th c.)
St. Theoktiste the Constantinopolitan (c. AD 740 ‐ between 797 and 799), 31 a woman of striking
character, is depicted in the Miterikon through two texts by her son St. Theodoros Stouditis, 32 a
distinguished scholar monk and a prominent figure in the battle against Iconomachy. 33
Theodoros describes the spiritual progress of his mother, who learned to read on her own as an
adult, in order to study the holy letters, 34 having her brother, Plato, prior at the monastery of
Symbola, on Mt. Olympos in Bithynia, as a spiritual father. 35 Without neglecting her household
duties, as Theodoros notes, Theoktisti started exercising in the virtues of an ascetic: systematically
attending services and praying, fasting, convincing her husband to abstain from sex, 36 dressing
plainly, like a widow, in short “putting to death desires” and “cleansing her soul to the point of
acquiring the accuracy needed for an absolute control of the mind”, while “following the narrow path
of sorrow throughout a tough life”. She also guided her children to virtue and when she left secular
life to become a nun –after organizing a celebration for all the relatives–, “what a marvelous novelty,
to leave her house and present herself to God along with a flock: her four children, her husband’s
three siblings, and taking her husband with her” 37 – a move that impressed the Reigning City
(Vasilevousa, that is, Constantinople). In this frame, what seems to negate a woman’s nature,
“cutting herself even from her beloved members of her family”, is considered an asset. 38
An interesting –negative– trait in the character of Theoktisti, one that probably only a relative
would have recorded (and for that reason, this account becomes exceptionally valuable), is the fact
that, “being forceful by nature” she lost her temper with the female servants of the house, and
treated them harshly –to the point of hitting or imprisoning them, “if that would bring them to
virtue”–, as she was later hard with her subordinate nuns. 39 Every time she regretted it and asked for
forgiveness from the woman/en involved and absolution by her spiritual father (that is, her brother
Plato or his successor as prior, her son Theodoros). Otherwise, she had excellent relations with her
women neighbors and provided for the poor and needy, as well as for the monks, with money,
supplies and meals.