St. Theodore, April 22
Kathy Rabenstein
+ Theodore of Sykeon (Sikion) B (RM)
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Died 613. The beginning of Theodore's life was infortuitous: He was the
bastard child of a girl whose mother and sister kept an inn at Sykeon, a
village of Galatia, and who prostituted themselves to their customers.
Later on his mother married and left him with his grandmother and aunt,
whom as a young man he converted to better ways.
Theodore himself became a monk when on a visit to Jerusalem. He
exercised considerable influence, founding monasteries in his own
country, and in spite of his strong objection, about 590, was elected
bishop of Anastasiopolis, not far from Turkey's capital of Ankara. After
10 years he resigned this office and, after visiting his patron Emperor
Maurice at Constantinople, lived as a monk again until his death at
Sykeon. He was also a great promoter of the cultus of St. George (f.d.
April 23).
A long _vita_ of St. Theodore was written by one of his disciples; it is
mostly a record of healings of the sick and the possessed and other
marvels attributed to this holy man, and of anecdotes illustrating the
virtues of his character. It does, however, provide a lively picture of life
in Asia Minor just before the Arab occupation (Attwater, Benedictines,
Dawes).
Other Saints Honored April 22
=================================
+ = celebrated liturgically
Abdiesus (Hebedjesus) the Deacon M (RM)
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4th century. Abdiesus was one of the vast multitude of Persians
martyred under King Shapur II. This persecution lasted from 341 to 380.
Abdiesus is styled a deacon in the Roman Martyrology, and is probably
not to be confused with another martyr of the same name who was
bishop of Cashcar (Benedictines).
Abrosimus (Abrosima) of Persia M (RM)
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Died 342. St. Abrosimus, a Persian priest, was stoned to death with
many of his flock under King Shapur II. The Greeks keep his feast on
November 10 (Benedictines).
Acepsimas (Acesimus) of Hnaila (Honit) BM (RM)
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Died October 10, 376. St. Acepsimas, an octogenarian bishop of Hnaita
(Honit) in western Persia, was racked and flogged to death under
Shapur II. His _acta_ are quite authentic. The priests Aithala and Joseph
suffered with him. The Roman Martyrology commemorates many others
who suffered about this time in the same persecution (Benedictines). In
art, St. Acepsimas is an Oriental bishop loaded with chains. He is
venerated in the Eastern Church (Roeder).
+ Agapitus I, Pope (RM)
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Died in Constantinople on April 22, 536. The Roman Agapitus, son of a
murdered priest named Gordian, was archdeacon of the Roman clergy
and an old man when elected pope on May 13, 535. As pope he
showed great vigor in opposing the Monophysites. He died while on a
mission for the Ostrogoth King Theodahad to convince Justinian to
forego a threatened invasion of Italy. Agapitus was unsuccessful, but
while there he convinced Justinian to remove Patriarch Anthimus, a
Monophysite, and replace him with Mennas, whom Agapitus
consecrated. His body was taken back to Rome on September 20, on
which date a second feast is celebrated in the Roman Martyrology. Like
many other Italian saints on the period, he owes his cultus to the
devotion of St. Gregory the Great (f.d. September 3) (Benedictines,
Delaney).
Aithalas of Persia M (RM)
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Died 377. Aithalas was a Persian priest of bishop Acepsimas above
(Benedictines).
Arwald and Arwald MM (AC)
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Died 686. These martyrs are called by the name of their father, a prince
of the Isle of Wight, whose proper names were lost. They were put to
death by soldiers of King Ceadwalla, then a pagan, on the day after their
baptism (Benedictines).
Azadanes and Azades MM (RM)
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Died 342. Azadanes, a deacon, and Azades, a high-standing officer at
the court of the Persian King Shapur II, were martyred together with
Abdeisus and others above (Benedictines).
Caius, Pope M (RM)
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Died c. 296. All that is known about St. Caius has come to us through
unreliable tradition. It is said that Pope Caius was a Dalmatian and a
relative of Emperor Diocletian. December 17, 283, he became pope.
During the tranquil initial years of his pontificate, Caius decreed that
bishops must be priests before consecration to the episcopacy. He is
honored as a martyr because of his sufferings: During Diocletian's
persecution of Christians, he fled and was forced to live for eight years
in concealment in a cave or the catacombs. The degree of unreliability of
this tradition is demonstrated by the fact that the Diocletian persecution
did not begin until six or seven years after his death (Benedictines,
Delaney, Encyclopedia).
St. Caius is portrayed in art wearing the papal tiara with St. Nereus. He
is venerated in Dalmatia and Venice (Roeder).
+ Epipodius and Alexander MM (RM)
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Died 178. Epipodius and Alexander were young, unmarried men, friends
of long standing. They lived at Lyons, France, as good Christians and
tried to avoid capture by the pagans during the persecution of Marcus
Aurelius by hiding with a widow who lived just outside the city. When
they were captured, the judge mocked Epipodius, saying:
"We worship the gods with revels and jollity and festivity. You people
follow a somber and sorrowful religion: you worship a man who was
nailed to a cross, who could not endure that one enjoy all of life's
pleasures, who condemns joy and is pleased to have worshippers
exhausted by fastings. After all, what can one expect from a God who
could not guarantee his own life.
"Too bad that a young man like you should perish for the defense of a
bad cause. Do you take us for atheists? Do we not also have a religion
and gods? Our gods love joy, banquets, the succulent pleasures of life
form part of their cult."
The crowd cried out. Epipodius said nothing in reply, and the judge order
him to be killed by the sword. Two days later his friend Alexander was
flogged and then crucified (Benedictines, Bentley, Encyclopedia).
Blessed Francis Venimbene of Fabriano, OFM (AC)
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Born at Fabriano, Italy, in 1251; died 1322. Francis, the son of a doctor,
joined the Franciscans in 1267. He was a disciple of St. Bonaventure
(f.d. July 15). He founded the first Franciscan library (Benedictines).
Leo of Sens B (RM)
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Died 541. St. Leo was bishop of Sens for 23 years. He defended the
rights of his own see against the pretensions of King Childebert
(Benedictines).
+ Leonides (Leonidas) of Alexandria M (RM)
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Died 202. The Alexandrian martyr Leonides was the father of seven
children, one of whom was Origen whose clothes had to be concealed
by his mother in order to prevent him from accompanying his father to his
martyrdom. He was himself a distinguished philosopher. Prior to his
beheading under Laetus, governor of Egypt, during the reign of Septimus
Severus, his property was confiscated and he was imprisoned for being
a Christian (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
Mareas and Companions MM (RM)
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Died 342. Bishop Mareas was another martyr under King Shapur II.
Together with him suffered 21 others bishops, nearly 250 priests, many
monks and nuns, and a vast number of laity. The church of Persia was
brought to the verge of extinction (Benedictines).
+ Opportuna of Montreuil, OSB V, Abbess (AC)
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Born near Ayesmes, Normandy; died c. 770. St. Opportuna was the
sister of St. Chrodegang (f.d. March 6), bishop of Seez. She entered the
Benedictine convent of Montreuil when she was still very young and
later became its abbess. Opportuna is described as "a true mother to all
her nuns." Her cultus has always flourished in France (Benedictines).
In art, St. Opportuna holds an abbess's crozier and a casket of relics.
She may also be shown with the Virgin appearing at her deathbed or as
a princess with a basket of cherries and a fleur-de-lys (Roeder). She is
venerated at Ayesmes in Normandy (Roeder).
Parmenius and Companions MM (RM)
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Died c. 250. The priests Parmenius, Helimenas, and Chrysotelus, and the
deacons Luke and Mucius were beheaded near Babylon when Emperor
Decius invaded Mesopotamia (Benedictines).
Rufus of Glendalough, Hermit (AC)
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Date unknown. St. Rufus was a hermit at Glendalough, where he was
buried. Some writers call him a bishop (Benedictines).
Segnorin (Senorina) of Basto, OSB V (AC)
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Died 982. Segnorin, related to St. Rudesind of Mondonedo (f.d. March 1),
was entrusted to the care of her aunt, the abbess Godina of the convent
of St. Jean-de-Vieyra (Venaria). Segnorin later joined the community and
succeeded her aunt. As abbess she moved the community to Basto in
the diocese of Braga (Benedictines).
St. Segnorin is depicted in art as an abbess reading in a library with a
crucifix before her and a large jar at her side (Roeder).
Soter, Pope (RM)
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Born at Fondi (near Gaeta), Italy; died 174. After the death of Pope
Anicetus in the middle of the 2nd century, Soter was elected to this
danger-fraught office about 166-167. His influence was widespread,
partly because of his charity (known from a letter of Bishop St.
Dionysius of Corinth, f.d. April 8), his personal kindness, and especially
his care for those who had been persecuted for their faith by being
deported to the mines and prisons.
This kindliness did not mean that Pope Soter looked kindly on error.
During his pontificate, a number of Christians, known as Montanists,
were preaching that the heavenly Jerusalem would soon descend near
Pepuza, a town in Phrygia. These Montanists condemned their
fellow-Christians as far too lax: they did not fast enough, it was alleged;
they should never marry again if one partner had died; they did not
prophesy enough, for they lacked the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The movement was dividing the Church and causing violent quarrels
among the faithful. Soter did not hesitate to condemn its leaders, sending
round an encyclical outlining their errors.
Soter may have died a martyr's death (Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney,
Encyclopedia).
Tarbula (Pherbutha, Tarbo, Tarba) of Persia VM (RM)
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Died May 5, 345. Tarbula was the virgin sister of the great bishop-martyr
St. Simeon Barsabba'e (f.d. April 21). After her brother's death, Tarbula
was accused by the Jews of having used witchcraft to cause King
Shapur's wife to sicken. She was sawn in half together with her sister
and another woman (Attwater, Benedictines).
Blessed Wolfhelm of Brauweiler, OSB Abbot (AC)
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Died 1091. The Rhinelander Wolfhelm joined the Benedictine at St.
Maximinus, Trier, Germany. From there he migrated to St. Pantaleon's at
Cologne, and then became abbot successively of Gladbach, Siegburg,
and Brauweiler, where he ended his days. He is described as a great
student of Holy Scripture and a lover of the Benedictine Rule
(Benedictines).
Sources:
========
Attwater, D. (1983). The penguin dictionary of saints, NY:
Penguin Books.
Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The
book of saints: A dictionary of servants of God canonized
by the Catholic Church extracted from the Roman and other
martyrologies. NY: Macmillan.
Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1966). The
book of saints: A dictionary of persons canonized or
beatified by the Catholic Church. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell.
Bentley, J. (1986). A calendar of saints: The lives of the
principal saints of the Christian year, NY: Facts on File.
Dawes, E. & Baynes, N. H. (1948). Three Byzantine saints.
Delaney, J. J. (1983). Pocket dictionary of saints, NY:
Doubleday Image.
Encyclopedia of Catholic saints, April. (1966).
Philadelphia: Chilton Books.
Roeder, H. (1956). Saints and their attributes, Chicago: Henry
Regnery.
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Kathy R.
krab...@ana.org