Saint Theodore of Sykeon

Saint Theodore of Sykeon, also known as Theodore the Sykeote (Greek: Θεόδωρος ό Συκεώτης), was a revered Byzantine ascetic, who lived between the first half of the 6th century and the thirteenth year of the Emperor Heraclius' rule (i. e. 623) in the early 7th century (or on 22 April 613). His hagiography, written after 641, is a key primary source for the reign of Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641). His feast day is 22 April. Theodore was born in Sykeon, a village in Galatia. The public highway of the imperial post ran through this village, and on the road stood an inn kept by a very beautiful girl, Mary, her mother, Elpidia, and a sister Despoinia. These women lived in the inn and followed the profession of courtesans. Theodore was the son of Mary and Cosmas, who had become popular in the hippodrome of Constantinople in the corps of those who performed acrobatic feats on camels and was appointed to carry out the emperor's orders. The biography of St Theodore depicts the women in his household as strong who have some choices in their life and are able to make a living through the proceeds from the inn. When Theodore was about twelve years old an epidemic of bubonic plague fell upon the village and it attacked him along with others so that he came near to dying. They took him to the shrine of St. John the Baptist near the village and laid him at the entrance to the sanctuary; he recovered and returned home. He used to frequent a shrine dedicated to the martyr St. George, located up the rocky hill which lay near the village. At the age of fourteen, he went there to live. Even at such a young age, Theodore was granted the gift of healing. Theodore then withdrew into complete solitude, to a cave not far from the oratory of St George. He persuaded a deacon to bring him bread and water, and he told no one else where he had hidden himself.