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REB 57 1999 France p. 163
Christopher Walter, Theodore, Archetype of the Warrior Saint. Les origines du culte de saint Thodore sont tudies en vue
d'laborer une approche mthodologique qui vaudrait pour les autres saints. Sont examins un un les plus anciens textes
concernant Thodore, l'tablissement de son sanctuaire Euchates, l'expansion de son culte, la nature de ses interventions
comme saint militaire dans la vie terrestre des hommes, l'mergence de son jumeau Thodore Stratlats qui disposait de son
propre sanctuaire Euchaneia et, enfin, la place de l'iconographie des deux Thodore dans l'esthtique byzantine.
Abstract
The origins of the cult of Saint Theodore are studied with a view to the elaboration of a methodological approach valid for other
military saints. One by one, are examined the most ancient hagiographical texts concerning Theodore, the establishment of his
sanctuary at Euchata, the spread of his cult, the nature of his interventions as a military saint in the lives of terrestrial men, the
emergence of his twin Theodore Stratelates with his own personal sanctuary at Euchaneia, and finally the place of the
iconography of the two Theodores in Byzantine aesthetics.
THEODORE,
ARCHETYPE OF THE WARRIOR SAINT
Christopher WALTER
Summary : The origins of the cult of Saint Theodore are studied with a view to the
elaboration of a methodological approach valid for other military saints. One by one, are
examined the most ancient hagiographical texts concerning Theodore, the establishment
of his sanctuary at Euchaita, the spread of his cult, the nature of his interventions as a
military saint in the lives of terrestrial men, the emergence of his twin Theodore
Stratelates with his own personal sanctuary at Euchaneia, and finally the place of the
iconography of the two Theodores in Byzantine aesthetics.
The late Alexander Kazhdan once remarked that the cult of Byzantine
warrior saints needed special investigation.1 I would be inclined slightly
to modify this statement and to remark rather that the attention which
warrior saints have received is uneven and higgledy-piggledy. Some, like
Saints George and Demetrius, have been examined in all their aspects :
their legends, the origin and spread of their cult, their iconography.2
Others, like Saint Mercurius, have long had their dossier competently
established, to which little that is new has needed to be added.3 Yet
others, like Saints Eustathius and Procopius have excited interest
principally for only one aspect of them, in this case their vision.4
1. A. Kazhdan, Hagiographical Notes, Byz. 53, 1983, p. 544.
2. For Saint George, see the hundreds of items listed by the Bollandists in the
bibliographies of their An. Boll, also my article, The Origins of the Cult of Saint George,
REB 53, 1995, p. 295, note 2. For Saint Demetrius, see the same article, p. 310, note 96.
3. S. Binon, Essai sur le cycle de Mercure, martyr de Dce et meurtrier de l'empereur
Julien, Paris 1937 ; Idem, Documents grecs indits relatifs S. Mercure de Csare,
Louvain 1937. More recently, P.L. Vocotopoulos, An Icon of Saint Mercurius Slaying
Julian the Apostate, Bulletin, New Series n 2, Medieval Art - In Honour of Zagorka
Rasolkoska-Nikolovska, Skopje 1996, p. 137-140.
4. See particularly H. Delehaye, La lgende grecque de saint Eustache, Mlanges
d'hagiographie grecque et latine, Brussels 1966, p. 212-239 ; N. Thierry, Le culte du cerf
en Anatolie et la vision de saint Eustathe, with appendix by C. Jolivet-Lvy, Trois
nouvelles reprsentations de la vision d' Eustathe en Cappadoce, Monuments et mmoires
Revue des tudes Byzantines 57, 1999, p. 163-210.
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CHRISTOPHER WALTER
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166
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
167
which the text has survived, Wind, theol. graec. 60, would have been
written in the tenth or eleventh century. Delehaye placed its composition
categorically after 934. For this he was followed by his fellow
Bollandist, Franois Halkin, in his introduction to the related Passion
due to Nicolas Ouranos (which, apparently, Delehaye did not know).
However, there are reasons for supposing that, even if the text as it has
survived was not put together before the tenth century, it contains
material assembled at a much earlier date.11 The author of the earlier
compilation knew Euchaita and its surroundings first hand. The
topographical information which he offers has attracted some scholars,
because it shows what life was like in a region chronically exposed to
marauders. 12
Military protection from the Byzantine army was sporadically
available, but more than this was needed. Here Theodore came into his
own, as this text recounts, particularly in the Miracula. In the first
miracle, he made a posthumous apparition, in order that a true likeness
might be made of him on an icon. It is mentioned specifically that he
wore military dress. It is possible (but, of course, not certain) that this
icon was the prototype of the one described in the eleventh century by
John Mauropous, an icon on which Theodore was represented as a
footsoldier, and which was, for a time, the focal point of a festival
attracting crowds of pilgrims.
The phrase in question mentions that the text was composed in the
fourteenth year of the emperor Constantine, and the seventh indiction.
Taken literally, the phrase yields the year 754, a date which Hippolyte
Delehaye considered to be out of the question for a text which introduces
the practice of painting icons, of offering cult to them and of asking for
the intercession of saints painted on icons, because it falls during the
reign of Constantine V in the period of First Iconoclasm. Delehaye's
argument would be valid if imperial decrees prohibiting the cult of icons
had been applied strictly throughout the Byzantine empire. However,
evidence is accumulating in favour of the view that this was not the case.
The mosaic portraits of Saint Demetrius in Thes Saloniki which survived
Iconoclasm are notorious evidence that the cult of popular saints in their
sanctuary was tolerated. Theodore was a highly popular saint. There is
11. Delehaye, Lgendes grecques, p. 183-201 ; Idem, Ada sanctorum, vol. cit. (note 7),
p. 49-55. Fr. Halkin, Un opuscule inconnu du Magistre Ouranos (La Vie de Thodore le
Conscrit, BHG 1762m), An. Boll. 80, 1962, p. 308-324, reprinted, Martyrs grecs, He-VIIIe
sicles, (Variorum Reprints) London 1974, n IX.
12. Notably, J.F. Haldon & H. Kennedy, The Arab-Byzantine Frontier in the Eighth
and Ninth Centuries - Military Organisation and Society in the Borderlands, ZRVI 19,
1980, p. 91. F. R. Trombley, The Decline of the Seventh-Century Town : The Exception
of Euchaita, Byzantine Studies in Honor of Milton V. Anastos, edited by Sp. Vryonis Jr.,
Malibu 1985, p. 65-90 (citing Abrahamse). Idem, The Arab Wintering Raid Against
Euchaita in 663, Fifth Annual Byzantine Studies Conference (Abstracts of Papers), p. 5-6.
A. Kazhdan, Hagiographical Notes, 17. The Flourishing City of Euchata? , Erytheia 9.2,
1988, p. 197-199.
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CHRISTOPHER WALTER
1 69
170
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
171
we have seen, was prepared to advance this claim for the fragment
Paris, graec. 499, f. 284v-285 (BHG 1765). We are obliged to be content
with Gregory's witness to the existence in the late fourth century of a
sanctuary where cult was offered to Theodore. There are analogies, but
by no means all the warrior saints (or others for that matter) were
favoured by a sanctuary where their cult originated and from which it
spread. Even if cult was offered to Theodore at Amaseia, as this
fragment maintains, it is evident that Euchaita became the principal
centre and continued to be up to the eleventh century, even after the
episcopate of John Mauropous.24 Subsequently, no doubt, Saracen
occupation made access difficult for pilgrims.
Meanwhile, however, Theodore's cult had spread, sometimes
explicitly associated with the distribution of his relics, as inscriptions
and other literary documents witness, for example an inscription at
Apamea refers to the relics of Saint Theodore and other saints
( ).25 Later
Mauropous was to write that the dispersion of Theodore's relics took
place, in order
appreciated.26
It isthat
not necessary
these universal
to suppose
riches
that each
couldreference
be widely
to a
place where the cult of Theodore was established presupposed that a
fraction of his relics had been deposed there.
Maraval lists among the places where Theodore was venerated : a
fifth-century basilica at Gerasa ;27 a martyrium at Jerusalem built before
the beginning of the sixth century ;28 another at Kausai near Myra.29
Franois Halkin augments this list with other inscriptions : addressed to
Theodore and Sergius at Kefr Antn dated 523 ;30 at Milos, where a
prayer inscribed on the fifth or sixth century ambo is addressed to
Theodore ;31 another in former barracks at Ghor (Syria), dated 524/5 or
530/1, mentions Longinus, Theodore and George.32 Procopius, writing in
the 550's, refers to two churches dedicated to Theodore in Haemimontus
(the district north-east of Europa and west of Rhodope).33 He also
alludes to a church in Constantinople ', no doubt to be
identified with that at Bathys Rhyax, which, according to Anna
24. See below note 115.
25. P. Maraval, Lieux saints et plerinages d'Orient, Paris 1985, p. 346, after
H. Delehaye, Saints et reliquaires d'Apame, An. Boll. 53, 1935, p. 238.
26. N. Oikonomids, Le ddoublement de saint Thodore et les villes d'Euchata et
d'Euchaneia, An. Boll. 104, 1986, p. 328, after Iohannis Euchatorum metropolitae quae
in codice Vaticano graeco 676 supersunt, d. P. Lagarde, Gttingen 1881, p. 127.
27. Maraval, op. cit. (note 25), p. 330.
28. Ibidem, p. 208.
29. Ibidem, p. 387.
30. Fr. Halkin, Inscriptions grecques relatives l'iconographie, tudes d'pigraphie
grecque et d'hagiographie byzantine (Variorum Reprints), London 1973, 1 p. 99, note 9.
31. Ibidem, III p. 122, after H. Leclercq, Mlos, DACL 1 1. i, 279.
32. Ibidem, Supplment, p. 335.
n 26
33.=Procopius
Bonn III, p.
of 306.
Caesarea, De aedificiis, edited J. Haurt, Leipzig 1964, p. 147, n 3,
172
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
173
890. 39 The dragon was a local menace, blocking the road. The soldier of
Christ, after making the sign of the cross, cut off the dragon's head, and
from that day the road was free of access. This was the banal act of a
Christian hero, in line with those of his antique predecessors, Perseus
and Hercules. It has none of the glamour of Saint George's feat, rescuing
a princess from a dragon. In fact, its significance is primarily
symbolical : the commitment of the warrior saints to fight against evil in
the world. Warrior saints, however, were not the immediate successors of
antique heroes in this struggle. Certain intermediary figures, like
Solomon, Sisinnius and others who remain anonymous, are known
(Figure I).40 Nevertheless, it may be that Theodore was the first warrior
saint to whom this responsibility was attributed and that much earlier
than 890 !
If the original composer of the Life and Miracula BHG 1764 was
writing around 754, then, since he recounts the encounter with the
dragon, an earlier date may be proposed for its introduction into
Theodore's legend. This date is supported by iconographical evidence on
seals (Figure 2). On one made for Peter of Euchata, which has been
dated between 650 and 730, a military figure does spear a snake.41 He is
not named Theodore in a legend, but, given the fact that the seal was
made for a bishop of Euchata, it is unlikely that this identification would
be wrong. Further corroborative evidence is provided by one of the terra
cotta plaques found at Vinica in 1985 (Figure 3).42 On it Theodore, his
name in Latin in the legend, is seated on horseback, wearing armour.
With his spear extended behind him, he impales the head of a dragon.
There is no objective evidence for the date of the terra cotta, but, with
the legend in Latin, it is likely to have been made while Vinica was still
under Roman jurisdiction, that is before Leo III the Isaurian (717-741)
brought Eastern Illyria under the jurisdiction of Constantinople in 733.43
It may therefore be plausibly advanced that Theodore was the first of
the warrior saints to acquire the office of killing a dragon, earlier than
Saint George who was concurrently slaying a man (Diocletian ?). The
174
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
44. K. Weitzmann, The Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai, The Icons I,
Princeton 1976, 44, p. 71-73.
45. S. Der Nersessian, Aght'amar, Church of the Holy Cross, Cambridge
(Massachusetts) 1965, p. 19, fig. 49, 50.
46. G. Santha, A Harcos Szentek Biznci Legendi, Budapest 1943, partly accessible
in the Italian rsum, Le leggende bizantine dei santi combattenti, p. 69-71 ; Constantine
Porphyrogenitus, De administrando imperil, Bonn, p. 217-220 = G. Moravcsik etc.,
edited, Washington 1967, p. 228-233.
47. V. Chapot, Resapha-Sergiopolis, BCH 27, 1903, p. 290, citing Evagrius, Historia
ecclesiastica IV 28.
48. See above, note 15.
49. Zuckerman, art. cit. (note 13), p. 196-197, citing P. Lemerle, Les plus anciens
recueils des miracles de saint Dmtrius I, Paris 1979, p. 159-165. He notes that, while
Demetrius by his intercession saved both city and inhabitants, Theodore saved only the
inhabitants of Euchata.
1 75
50. E. Kitzinger, On Some Icons of the Seventh Century, The Art of Byzantium and
the Modern World, edited R. Kleinbauer, Bloomington/London 1976, p. 137, fig. 4. Two
decades ago, the painting was so deteriorated that the legend was illegible, P. J.
Nordhagen, Santa Maria Antiqua. The Frescoes of the Seventh Century, Acta ad
archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia 8, 1978, p. 105-106, pi. XVIII, LXV 7
(legend).
51. Ch. Walter, St. Demetrius : The Myroblytos of Thessalonika, Eastern Churches
Review 5, 1973, p. 177, pi. 15 ; reprinted, Studies in Byzantine Iconography V,
(Variorum) London 1977.
52. S. Petricioli, Kameni grbovi grada Zadra, Radovi Instituta Jugoslavenske
Akademije u Zadru 9, 1962, p. 359-372.
53 M. Chatzidakis, Icons of Patmos, Athens 1977, n 82, pi. 136 (detail), 137, p. 128129.
176
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
177
178
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
1 79
hanging before Saint George's icon. A piece of glass from the lamp
lodged in his head, causing leprosy and his death. When Diocletian
himself went to Saint George's shrine in Lydda, the archangel Michael
intervened. Diocletian went blind and died shortly afterwards. Saint
George was, in fact, represented on horseback killing a man at least as
early as 915-921 at Aght'amar.70 Usually no legend identifies the man on
representations of this scene which were particularly numerous in
Georgia.71 However, on two icons, dating from the first half of the
eleventh century, the prostrate figiure is named the godless king
Diocletian.72
Closer to the literary narrative, which, in fact, was much developed
and embellished, are the representations of Mercurius killing Julian the
Apostate.73 The text resembles that of the account of Theodore and
Sergius killing the emperor Valens.74 Julian was killed on June 26th, 363.
He was succeeded by Jovian, and, in 364, by Valens, who, being an
Arian and a persecutor of the Orthodox, was not considered to be any
better than Julian. Faustus of Byzantium told in his History of Armenia
of a sophist's vision of the assembled martyrs in heaven. Thecla joined
them ; she proposed an intervention in order to rid the world of the
persecuting emperor. Saints Sergius and Theodore departed to perform
this office. Later the sophist saw them return. They announced the death
of Valens. In making known the emperor's death, the sophist risked
execution for treason. However, he was given three days' grace, at the
end of which the fact was generally known. The story is, of course,
apocryphal, because Valens actually died in battle at Adrianople in 378.
Faustus's History survived only in Armenian. Peeters thought that the
original text was written in Greek and that it was early, earlier than the
account of Mercurius killing Julian, which was already circulating in the
mid-fifth century. Garsoan, however, argues convincingly that it
depends rather on a Syriac text. According to Peeters, whom, in general,
Garsoan follows, it was impossible for the intervention of Theodore and
70. Der Nersessian, op. cit. (note 45), p. 19, fig. 49.
71. G. N. Tschubinaschvili, Georgian Repouss Work, VIII-XVIH Centuries, Tbilissi
1957, pi. 29-98, 103.
72. Idem, in Byzanz und der christliche Osten, edited W.F. Volbach & J. LafontaineDosogne, Berlin 1968, p. 332, pl. 360 (Museum, Kutaissi) ; Idem, op. cit. (note 71), pi. 93,
Weitzmann, op. cit. (note 44), fig. 28 (at Nakipari). The name Diocletian is sometimes
inscribed by the prostrate figure on late Georgian icons.
73. See above, note 3.
74. P. Peeters, Un miracle de SS. Serge et Thodore et la Vie de S. Basile dans Fauste
de Byzance, An. Boll. 39, 1921, p. 70-73. See also The Epic History Attributed to
P'awstos Buzand , translated and edited by Nina G. Garsoan, Cambridge (Mass) 1989,
IV x, p. 130-132, and her commentary, p. 279-280. Surprisingly, this eminent scholar
wrote, p. 407, that Sargis (Sergius) was traditionally martyred under Diocletian, ca 303
(actually Maximian or Maximinus Daia), that Justinian (actually Anastasius I) renamed
Rosafa Serginpolis, and that he was always represented in military dress (by no means !).
Her notes about Theodore, p. 413, and Vales (Valens), p. 421, are more satisfactory.
180
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
18 1
church of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Rome, is also dated to the sixth
century.82
On the icon of the Virgin and Child flanked by two saints at Mount
Sinai, again attributed to the sixth century, the figure identified as
Theodore wears court dress.83 However, on two later ones, 13,
possibly of Egyptian provenance, and 14, where he is accompanied by
the deacon Leo, Theodore wears armour.84 The saint on certain seals
associated with Euchata, also identified as Theodore, again wears
armour.85 The example may also be adduced of a capital, found at Aqaba
about 1935 and now in the Archaeological Museum at Amman (Figure
9).86 It is comparatively small (27 40 37 centimetres), and is
accompanied by another similar capital on which Longinus is
represented. Both he and Theodore wear military costume, hold a spear
and shield and are haloed. With the same lot a stele was discovered with
an inscription that may be dated to 555. There is no necessary
connection between the capitals and the stele ; consequently there are no
objective criteria for dating them. They could be sixth or seventh century
work, but the crudity of their execution makes such a dating conjectural.
On the other hand on the votive mosaic in Saint Demetrius,
Thessaloniki, generally dated to the seventh century, Theodore wears
court dress.87
In fact, although it was never de rigueur, it did become more
customary for military saints to be represented in armour. However, at no
period can it be said that armour was an essential attribute of the military
saint.
The art of Cappadocia, being more plentiful, provides a convenient
watershed. As is wellknown, in Cappadocia scenes and cycles are rare ;
there are none for Theodore. However representations of him on
horseback, usually spearing a dragon, and on foot, in court or military
dress, are relatively abundant. There is no hope of providing a complete
and exact repertory, given the frequent new discoveries or identifications
(and, on occasions, inadequate descriptions) proposed by the specialists
in Cappadocian art. When Theodore is represented on horseback, he is
82. G. Matthiae, SS. Cosma e S. Teodoro, Rome 1948, pi. 3, 9 ; Mavrodinova, art. cit.
(note 6), p. 34, fig. 1.
83. Weitzmann, op. cit. (note 44), 3 ; Age of Spirituality, n 478. Regrettably,
Weitzmann identifies the early portraits of Theodore incorrectly as the Stratelates ; he has
been followed by other scholars.
84. Weitzmann, op. cit., 13, 14.
85. See above, note 41.
86. First published by N. Glueck, Exploration in Eastern Palestine III, Annual of the
American School of Oriental Research , 18-19, 1937-1939, p. 1-3, figures 1-2. See also
M. Schwabe, A Greco-Christian Inscription from Aila, Harvard Theological Review 46,
195 p. 49. Exhibited in the Muse de la civilisation gallo-romaine at Lyon, May 1989,
Catalogue n 51, p. 283.
87. R. Hoddinott, Early Byzantine Churches in Macedonia and Southern Serbia,
London 1963, p. 154-155, pi. 34.
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CHRISTOPHER WALTER
1 83
184
CHRISTOPHERWALTER
Later direct references to Euchaita are rare until the time when John
Mauropous became bishop. It is evident that the cult of Theodore (Tiron)
was then still flourishing. However, John Mauropous, in poor health,
returned to Constantinople in 1047. 115 A successor as bishop of Euchaita
would have been appointed, although his name is not known. According
to his Life, George the Hagioretes and his pilgrim companions were
received there hospitably by the bishop in 1059.116 After that, apart from
the mention of a bishop Basil in a synodal list of 1082 and of a bishop
Constantine in 1173 (neither of them necessarily resident),117 no more is
heard of Euchaita.
H. Delehaye wrote : On discute... la question de savoir s'il faut
distinguer Euchaita d'Euchaneia... Je persiste croire que, dans les
textes concernant S. Thodore, les deux noms dsignent la mme localit
ou peut-tre deux localits voisines.118 It is true that in many texts the
two places are either confused or considered to be identical. However,
there are a few which establish that they were separate places.
Geographically, their respective situations are presented lucidly in the
Life of Lazarus of Mount Galesius (BHG 979-980e), who died in
1053. 119 The hagiographer tells that ... ...
,
. Oikonomides would identify Euchaneia with the modern
Turkish Corum about thirty-five kilometres west of Avkat (Euchaita).120
The geographical separation is confirmed by ecclesiastical documents.
Bishops of Euchaneia appear in synodal lists from 1042. 121 John of
Euchaneia sat with Basil of Euchaita at the trial of John Italos in 1082. 122
Moreover a seal of John's has survived.123 On one side there is the
portrait of a bearded saint in military dress with cuirass and lance. Only
part of the inscription but enough to identify the saint has
survived : . On the other side, the inscription is better
preserved :
. Leo of Euchaneia sat with Constantine of Euchaita at a
115. Giovanni Mauropode, Otto canoni paracletici a N.S. Ges Crsto, edited
E. Follieri, Rome 1967, p. 15-16.
116. P. Peeters, Histoires monastiques gorgiennes II, An. Boll. 36/37, 1917-1919,
p. 121-122.
117. See below, note 124.
118. H. Delehaye, reviewing J.G.C. Anderson etc., Recueil des inscriptions grecques
et latines du Pont et de l'Armnie, An. Boll. 30, 191 1, p. 336.
1 19. AASS Nov. Ill 518.
120. Oikonomides, art. cit. (note 26), p. 327-332.
121. J. Darrouzs, Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae, Paris
1981, p. 87.
n 926,
122. p.V.401-402
Grumel,; J. Regestes,
Gouillard,second
Le procs
edition,
officiel
revised
de Jean
J. Darrouzs,
l'Italien, TMParis
9, 1985,
1989,
p. 141.
I 3,
123. Zacos, op. cit. (note 41) II, compiled and edited by J.M. Nesbitt, Berne 1984,
p. 271, n 519 ; Plates II, Berne 1985, pi. 53, n 51 ; Oikonomides, art. cit., (note 26), p.
328.
1 85
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CHRISTOPHER WALTER
1 87
188
CHRISTOPHER WALTER
those of the Stratelates. While there are several references for the Tiron
in the Synaxary to the churches in Constantinople where celebrations in
his honour were held, notably - , no reference is
made to Euchata.142 On the other hand, for the Stratelates, no mention is
made of the church in which his feasts were celebrated, no doubt
because none was dedicated to him, apart, of course, from his sanctuary,
which the Sirmondianus, correctly, situated in Euchaneia. 143
It is understandable that, in such circumstances, two distinct saints
should emerge. Yet, although, perhaps, the Stratelates was more
esteemed in late Byzantium than the humble footsoldier, having two
feasts which were half-days ( ,
), while the Tiron had only one,144 no evidence exists that he
had his own church in Constantinople, or anywhere else for that matter
except at Euchaneia. Where, then, was his liturgy celebrated? One can
only suppose that it took place in one of the numerous churches
dedicated to the Tiron, most likely in the .
Nevertheless churches did exist dedicated to both the Theodores. The
earliest, at Serres, known from the thirteenth century, has been
mentioned already with regard to the intervention of both saints in battle
on behalf of the emperor Theodore II Lascaris.145 A second, in
Constantinople itself, for a monastery named , after the
husband of the woman who endowed it and who entered the community
as a nun, was built at the end of the fourteenth century.146 A third at
Pergamon,
... is dated
by an inscription on the lintel over the south door of the church to
1544/5. 147 This twinning of the two Theodores was much less
widespread in inscriptions and dedications than in the literary sources,
from which, however, a few examples should be adduced. In Digenes
142. Synaxarium constantinopolitanum, 469 (February 17th, with a reference to his
principal feast, the first Saturday of Lent,
. 272 (December 1st, a commemoration in the same church), 197 (November
5th, the same), 774 (June 26th, '). For this ecclesiastical foundation and its
place in the history of the cult of the Theodores, see above, note 56 (controversy around
Sphoracius) ; note 17 (Chrysippus first refers to Sphoracius) ; note 35 (Janin's brief
account of the church in Byzantine sources).
143. Synaxarium constantinopolitanum, 451-453 (February 8th), 735-738 (June 8th,
where it is specified that Euchaneia was ). Paris, gr. 1589 (12th
century) and 1582 (14th century) both give Eucha'ita, not Euchaneia. So does Vatic, gr.
1613 (see above, note 79).
144. Photii Nomocanon cum commentariis Theodori Balsamonis (12th century), PG
104, 1072-1073 ; Novel of Manuel I Comnenus (1166), PG 133, 760 : February 7th and
June 8th for the Stratelates, February 17th for the Tiron.
145. See above, note 58.
146. Janin, op. cit. (note 34), p. 291, citing Georgius (Pseudo-)Phrantzes, Chronicon
Majus,PG 156,751.
147. Halkin, art. cit. (note 30), V p. 77, citing H. Grgoire, Recueil des inscriptions
grecques chrtiennes d'Asie Mineure , Paris 1922, p. 17, n 51.
189
Akrites, compiled perhaps in the eleventh century,148 the thriceblessed Basil overawed mighty and brave warriors, thanks to the grace of
God, of God's unconquerable mother (...) and of the prize-bearing great
martyrs,
, .149 Elsewhere,
there is a reference to two presents, jewelled pictures of the saints,
150 To these may be added
four poems composed by Manuel Philes (born ca 1275, died ca 1345). 151
In iconography, it was regularly the practice to represent the two
Theodores together, in the company of warrior and other saints. In
this final section of my article, I propose to examine this phenomenon of
twinning, more particularly under its aesthetic aspect.
The Aesthetics of Warrior Saints
M.I. Rostovtzeff remarked long ago, with regard to Parthian art, that
Palmyrene gods, as well as heroized men, were resplendent in their
boyish beauty (...). Despite their military dress, the military gods of
Palmyra are refined, elegant ephebes of the Oriental type (...). The
graceful figures of the boyish gods and of their curly-haired attendants,
the slim proportions of their bodies, the romantic eyes, their almost airy
appearance enable us to grasp at once, even without the help of the
haloes and radiate crowns which surround the heads of the gods, their
solar, ethereal and celestial nature.152
It should be noted that Rostovtzeff is describing military gods, so that
the transition to military saints may be made plausibly through the
intermediary of such figures as those represented in the dome of the
rotunda of Saint George in Thessaloniki.153 The early portraits of Saint
Demetrius in his sanctuary in the same city,154 like early representations
148. E.M. & M.J Jeffreys, Digenes Akrites, Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium I, 622-623.
149. Digenes Akrites, edited J. Mavrogordato, Oxford 1956, p. 3.
150. Ibidem, p. 129. Another reference to the two Theodores, p. 205. However, the
church built by Digenes was dedicated to only one Theodore the saint and martyr, p.
223.
151. Manuelis Philae Carmina, edited E. Miller, I, Paris 1855, Poem 171 (where the
two Theodores are compared favorably to Hercules), Poem n 287, p. 138, Poem n 51,
p. 228, Poem n 262, p. 457. See also Manuelis Philae Carmina Graeca, edited
G. Weinsdorf, Leipzig 1768. In the verses published by Weinsdorf, it seems that there is
some confusion between the two Theodores. However, in one, n 6, p. 236, Manuel Philes
addresses the three great martyrs, Theodore, Demetrius and George. The three are
qualified as , (fleet of foot, an adjective, under the form of
, normally applied only to George), . However, Theodore is explicitly
qualified as .
152. M.I. Rostovtzeff, Dura and the Problem of Parthian Art, Yale Classical Studies
1935, p. 157, quoted after E. Fowden's study of Saint Sergius & Bacchus (printing).
153. A. Grabar, propos des mosaques de la coupole de Saint-Georges Salonique,
Cahiers archologiques 17, 1967, p. 59-81.
154. R. Cormack, The Church of Saint Demetrius : The Water-colours and Drawings
of W.S. George, The Byzantine Eye, (Variorum) London 1989, II.
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191
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of Christ, they were indissociable in the army of this world, but also
excellent soldiers of Christ.168 Their unity was perfect. When Bacchus
was executed, Sergius wept in prison : Never again shall we chant,
brother and companion in arms : Ecce quant bonum et quant jucundum,
habitare fratres in unum..169 And so on... However, although some
representations of Sergius and Bacchus together exist, for example in
Vatic, gr. 1679, f. 48V,170 where they stand together in court dress, jointly
holding a sword between them, their association is not de rigueur.
Sometimes, Sergius is represented without Bacchus.
As for the two Theodores, their association, once it began, was one of
the closest of those between military saints. Too much should not be
made of this, for, quite apart from the Stratelates having been, to all
accounts, a late invention, hagiographers were not accustomed to
associate them in their lifetime. On the other hand they did associate the
Tiron with his relatives Eutropius, Cleonicus and Basiliscus.
171
193
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CHRISTOPHER WALTER
more particularly by the protection of his native town. This was the case
of Theodore with Euchaita. However, military saints also intervened in
other circumstances, notably in battle. Examples have been noted of yet
other types of intervention, such as killing dragons, although this was not
their unique privilege. As with most other saints, not necessarily
military, the origin of Theodore's cult was related to the sanctuary where
his relics were reputed to be preserved and where his icon, in military
dress, was first painted and venerated. The spread of his cult again
this was not peculiar to military saints was connected with the
fraction and dispersion of his relics. As their cult developed, Theodore
and other military saints became ever more associated with the
maintenance of imperial power, although investiture of emperors was a
privilege more often reserved to angels.
Theodore, like the others, was not necessarily represented as a warrior.
Often these saints wore court dress and held the cross of martyrdom in
their right hand. However, Theodore, more than most, was represented in
military dress, particularly from the eleventh century. For this,
Cappadocia provides an abundant documentation. The emergence of a
twin, in his case the Stratelates, probably towards the end of the ninth
century, was, if not exclusively a phenomenon of military iconography,
at least more frequent with soldiers than with other saints. It can be
explained satisfactorily, it seems, as a reflection of the camaraderie
universal in military circles. A final negative point may be made : neither
of the Theodores, apparently, inspired the production of .
It is clear that from the tenth century an echelon of military saints was
securely established in Byzantine hagiography. They have their place on
ivories and, more and more, in church decoration. An easy explanation
would be that Byzantine society, threatened so severely from without,
felt increasingly the need for their protection. Their introduction into
court ceremonial is witnessed by the passage in the De officia of the
Pseudo-Codinus, in which it is said that icons were carried not only of
the archangel but also of Demetrius, Procopius, George and the
Theodores ().178 They were the principal members, of course,
of what Delehaye called the quartier gnral of the military saints. In
late Byzantine art, they become increasingly numerous. Reference to all
the series, many well-documented, of their portraits would be both
lengthy and invidious. I will limit myself to two examples, both
admirably presented : that at Decani,179 where figure fifteen warrior
saints, and that in the parecclsion of the Kariye Cami, with fourteen
warrior saints (not all the same in each church).180 Here we are a long
hark from the fourth-century sanctuary at Euchaita, where Gregory of
Nyssa would have delivered his Encomium. Yet it was there that the first
178. Pseudo-Kodinos, Trait des offices, edited J. Verpeaux, Paris 1966, p. 196.
179. Markovk, art. cit. (note 5).
180. P.A. Underwood, The Kariye Djami III, New York 1966, n 142-178.
195
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CHRISTOPHER WALTER
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Figure 5. Fresco, George investing Milutin. Staro Nagoricino.
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204
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205
206
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207
208
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209
Figure 15. Icon from Momcilovci, the Two Theodores. Icon Museum,
Plovdiv.
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CHRISTOPHER WALTER