Theodore Stratilat

The Scientific Approach to Life

Lives of the saint

In ancient Russian literature, there are three options for the life of Theodore Stratilates, which experts call the "short", "full" and "Slavic version."

These three lives are translated from the Greek language and are the Martian life .

In ancient Russian manuscripts, this work was most often called "The Torment of St. Theodore Stratilates" and began with the words:

How shall the sun shine upon those who see, and on those who hear the martyr of the word ... ^[5]

A short version of the life tells of the torture the saint suffered on the orders of King Licinius . It describes the events of the martyrdom of Theodore, while the saint dies on the cross, and the angel resurrects him.

In the full version of the life, the text coincides with the short version almost verbatim, but after describing the virtues of Theodore, this option includes an episode of a meeting with Christian Eustathia and a victory over the monstrous serpent.

After describing this event, the text of the short version of the life continues from the moment the ambassadors sent by Licinius arrived ^[5] .

These two versions of life are a translation of Greek originals, of which there were also two, and they also differed in the mentioned episode. These versions of the text have been preserved and are stored in the Vatican Apostolic Library (full - No. 1993, short - No. 1245).

The first list in Slavic is a short version, which is included in Zlatoust Yagich , dating from the beginning of the XIV century.

But in the general handwritten tradition, the full version of the legend is much more common, which begins like this:

The great martyr Theodore Stratilat be under Licinius Caesar ... ^[5]

The third version is a translation of the Greek text of the life, which was included in the collection of Damascene Studite "Treasures" ( Greek Θησαυρός ) of the XVI century ^{[Note 1]} in the translation of Arseniy Grek .

This translation was first published in 1660 in Moscow as an article in the collection of Anphologion .

Apparently, this text was copied into the collection of Alexander Anisimov , who called it the “Slavic version”. Later, in 1715, this work of Damaskin Studit was completely translated by Theodore Gerasimov Poletaev .

In this work, the name of the life looks like this: “The torment of the holy glorious great martyr Theodore Stratelates, presented in a common language by the last monk Damascene, subdeacon and Studite,” which begins with the words:

It’s like to bear the blazes to the soul of a pious man ... ^[5]

The combination and translation of these versions was carried out by Dmitry Rostovsky , whose works were published in 1689-1705 and were recognized as the most successful ^{[6] [7]} .

This book is reprinted once a decade, the last reprint was in 1998 ^[8] .

The difficulties of studying the texts of the life of the saint

The translation of Greek texts themselves often led to confusion of texts, which was a problem not only for Slavic translators. The problem was the proximity of St. Theodore - Tyrone and Stratilates - they were both revered by Christian warriors, lived in the same locality at the same time, each defeated their serpent, were the patrons of the army of the Byzantine Empire . ^[five]

In addition, the texts of the lives of the mentioned saints are read close to each other: firstly, the celebration of the memory of the saints was not far off on the calendar, ^{[Note 2]} some Mineya-Menaeas are composed so that the stories about the saints follow one after another. Therefore, when reading the lives of saints at home, in the view of the reader (scribe, translator), these stories were intertwined. Secondly, during the reading of " Chrysostom " these lives are read side by side and listeners can be perceived as a whole ^[5] .

In some cultures, the features of saints penetrate each other, scholars give an example of the Georgian translation, in which there is one martyr, and his name is “Theodore Stratilon” . The snaking of Theodore Stratilon is described according to the life of Theodore Stratilates, and the torment and death of the character coincide with the Greek text of the life of Theodore Tiron. There are texts of Chrysostom in which Theodore Tyrone is called "Stratiot . " There are also apocryphal texts in which Tyrone is credited with the military rank of stratig , which is a mismatch ("Tyrone" is translated as a rookie) ^[5] .

An additional confusion is caused by folk signs on the day of Fedor Stratilat - according to the life of Theodore Tyrone, it was he, and not Theodore Stratilat, who was struck by a snake that guards a drinking spring .

Scientific studies of the life of the saint share this mistake, the academic publication of the History of Russian Literature in 1941 contains the text :

Theodore Tyrone rescues Eusebius from the serpent, and Theodore Stratilates is the savior of his mother

- Eremin I.P., Skripil M.O. Life literature ^[9]

This is a mistake, since Tyrone saves his mother, and Eusebius warns Stratilates . Also in scientific research there is confusion with the dates of memory of saints and texts of readings these days. ^[five]

Moreover, almost all Byzantine and Old Russian images of saints depict them so that the differences between them become obvious. The hagiographic icon of Theodore Stratilates, which is stored in the Novgorod Museum , depicts both saints. ^[five]

A. I. Anisimov expressed the following opinion on this issue :

Theodore Stratilat and Tyrone never merge into one person: repeating almost the same features in iconography ... they remain, however, separate individuals

- Novgorod icon of Theodore Stratilates ^[10]

Events of the Saint's Life

Victory over the Serpent

According to the life, Theodore was a talented, brave and handsome young man. The events that glorified Theodore occurred in the reign of the emperor Licinius . During this period, there was extensive persecution of Christians , but the emperor, seeing that most of them were happy to die for their faith, first began to persecute high-ranking Christians. Theodore shared the fate of the Forty Sebastian Martyrs and other martyrs from among the emperor's entourage.

Theodore was born in the city of Euchit ( Asia Minor ) and served in the imperial army. The fame of his military prowess spread after he killed a serpent who lived near Euchaith. According to legend, this snake lived in failure in a deserted field, which was located north of the city. Once a day, he got out of there and at that moment any beast or person could become his victim. Satiated, he returned to his lair.

Theodore decided to rid the city of this monster and, without notifying anyone of his intentions, opposed him with his usual weapons. Arriving on the field, he wanted to rest in the grass, but the elderly Christian Eusebius, in whose house the relics of Theodore Tyrone were buried, warned him of the danger. Theodore prayed, mounted his horse, and summoned the snake to battle. After the Serpent crawled out of the underground shelter, Theodore's horse jumped up with his hooves and the rider hit him.

The inhabitants of the city, who saw the serpentine body, associated the feat with the faith of Theodore and marveled at the power of Christianity . After that, he was appointed commander (stratilate) in the city of Heracles, where he actively preached Christianity. Most of the citizens were converted by him to the Christian faith. This was reported to the emperor Licinius, who sent dignitaries after him, who invited Theodore to his place. In response, Theodore invited the emperor to Heracles, promising to arrange there a magnificent sacrifice to the pagan gods.

Martyrdom

For this purpose, the emperor with eight thousand soldiers arrived in the city, many gold and silver statues of the Hellenic gods were brought. Theodore asked to take them for the night for personal sacrifice, promising the next morning to bow to the gods in public. At night, he broke the statues of the gods, and distributed parts to the poor. The next morning, the imperial centurion Maxentius discovered Theodore's deception to the emperor:

The emperor was shocked, and Theodore Stratilates explained his actions by faith in Christ and disbelief in pagan gods. In the process of dialogue, Theodore proved to Lycinus the truth of his faith and the wrong beliefs of the emperor. The emperor was insulted and ordered to execute the rebellious military leader. After this, the saint was tortured for many days, he was carved, burned with fire and torn with iron claws. Then Theodore was imprisoned and starved for five days, then blinded and crucified . According to legend, thanks to God's intercession at night, the angel came to Theodore and the warrior became unharmed.

Licinius, thinking that the martyr had passed away, left him hanging on the cross. But now, in the first night watch, the Angel of the Lord removed the holy martyr from the cross and made him whole and sound, as he was before ...

- Dimitry of Rostov . Lives of the Saints, February 8

As a result of this miracle, the whole city believed in Christ and the inhabitants tried to stand up for their stratilate. Stratilates preached stopped the feud, according to legend, he freed prisoners , healed the sick .

After that, Theodore gave the last orders on various issues, including the place of his burial. After additional prayer, he voluntarily went to execution. He was truncated with a sword on February 8, 319. His body, according to his last will, was buried in his hometown of Euchaite, where he was transferred on June 8 .

The biography of Theodore Stratilates was recorded by his servant and scribe Ouar, who was an eyewitness to the events and the executor of his last will.

There are legends about the miracles associated with Theodore Stratilates.

With the capture of Syria by the Saracens

In the temple of Theodore Stratelates, which was located near Damascus in the town of Karsat , events took place that were mentioned by Anastasius of Sinai , the Patriarch of Antioch and John of Damascus , who lived in the 7th - 8th centuries . When the area was captured, the temple was devastated and subsequently subjected to desecration, the Saracens settled in it. At one point, one of them shot from a bow into the image of St. Theodore Stratelates, painted on the church wall with paints . The arrow hit the saint’s right shoulder and, according to legend, blood flowed down the wall. Those who lived in the building were surprised at this fact, but did not leave the church building. After some time, everyone who lived in the church died, and this was about twenty families . The causes of the disease remained unclear, while the inhabitants of the surrounding houses were alive and well. ^[eleven]

In the last battle of the Russo-Byzantine war of 970–971

according to the Tale of Bygone Years , the saint helped the Greeks in the battle of July 971 - with a significant numerical superiority of the Russians, the battle ended without result, and Svyatoslav Igorevich was wounded. Leo Deacon reports that " Subsequently, the firm conviction spread that it was the great martyr Theodore, whom the sovereign prayed for himself and for the whole army to be an ally, patron and savior in battles ." ^[12]

Theodore Stratilat is depicted in plate armor , most often in his right hand he holds a spear that is depicted vertically (unlike Theodore Tyrone, whose spear is placed on the diagonal of the picture). Also, icons often depict a shield (mainly round), Russian icon painters later began to write a shield from the times of Dmitry Donskoy . In addition, there are icons on which Theodore Stratilates holds a cross . Significantly less common are icons on which the sword is depicted in the hands of a saint. Icons are much less common, on which Theodore is depicted sitting on a horse. This is mainly an Eastern tradition, there are some features of icon painting - on the horse of Theodore a small Saracen is depicted, as well as on the icons of St. George the Victorious. This Saracen is the embodiment of those Arabs who are at one with the saint. The suit of the horse under Saint Theodore is depicted on the Coptic icons as white, sometimes as a mule or a nightingale. ^[13]

Theodore Stratilates and Our Lady

This plot takes place in the Catholic tradition. In Orthodoxy, the story of the saint is found with the Fedorov icon . ^[five]

Theodore Stratilat and Theodore Tyrone

There are a large number of icons depicting these saints. According to legend, they both came from the same locality. Both of them were soldiers, but held different positions: the word "Stratilate" is translated as a military leader, and "Tiron" means a rookie. Such prevalence of icons is due to the fact that during the Byzantine Empire, these saints were worshiped as the personification of the Christian principle in the military power of the empire. In addition, they were considered the intercessors of the Christian population of the country. ^[14]

Theodors were also associated with St. George the Victorious . This connection can be traced to the traditions of the Byzantine era. ^[five]

Theodore Stratilat and the Great Martyr Irina

The distribution of these icons is due to the fact that these martyrs were the namesake saints of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich and Tsarina Irina Feodorovna Godunova , the wedding of which took place in 1580 . For the next twelve years after the wedding , they had no children , which was a serious problem for the royal family. Numerous churches were built throughout Russia in honor of Saints Theodore and Irina, and chapels were opened in churches. Due to the fact that in a short time a large number of icons were painted, they are interconnected by the technique of execution and have something in common with the secular technique of that period. ^[15]

Life Icons

In the second half of the 16th century , hagiographic icons of St. Theodore, the former patron saint of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, became widespread. As art monuments, researchers identify five such icons: ^[16]

1. The temple icon of the Feodorovsky Cathedral of the Feodorovsky Monastery .
2. The temple icon of the church of Theodore Stratilates on the Stream of the second quarter of the XVI century.
3. Icon of Kalbensteinberg
4. Pskov or Novgorod icon of unknown origin in the third quarter of the XVI century, stored in the State Russian Museum
5. The temple icon of the Fedorovsky side chapel of the Church of St. John Climacus of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, made around 1572.

It is believed that for the icons that are in the Russian Museum (No. 4, 5) the prototype was the icon of the Theodorovsky Monastery. ^[sixteen]

There are streets, settlements that bear the name of the saint. Special veneration of St. Theodore in the city of Kostroma , which was restored in 1239 by Yaroslav Vsevolodovich . Then he put in the center of the city the wooden church of Theodore Stratilates .

There are a certain number of monasteries and churches that are set up in honor of Theodore Stratilates, there are also churches in which a particle of the relics of the saint is stored.

In 2010, Patriarch Kirill established Theodore as the heavenly patron of the Federal Bailiff Service , which voluntarily helps restore the Theodorov Monastery in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky ^[17] .

• Theodore Tyrone

• Theodore Stratilates, Heracles, Great Martyr (neopr.) . The official website of the temple of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates. Date of treatment March 24, 2010. Archived March 12, 2012.
• Churches and chapels in Russia, consecrated in the name of Theodore Stratilates