Saint Theodoret

Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus (Ancient Greek: Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; c. 393 – c. 458) was a notable theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He participated in several 5th-century Christological controversies within the Eastern Roman Church that resulted in various ecumenical acts and schisms. Theodoret wrote against Cyril of Alexandria's Twelve Anathemas, which were sent to Nestorius, and did not condemn Nestorius until the Council of Chalcedon. Selected writings by Theodoret directed against Cyril formed part of the subject matter of the Three Chapters Controversy and were condemned posthumously at the Second Council of Constantinople (553). He is accorded the epithet "Blessed" in the Eastern Orthodox Church. According to the historian Tillemont, he was born at Antioch in 393 and died about 458, either at Cyrrhus (an estimated eighty Roman miles east of Antioch) or at the monastery near Apamea (fifty-four Roman miles southeast of Antioch). Information regarding his life is derived primarily from his Epistles and his Religious History (Philotheos historia). He was the child of a prosperous Antiochene couple. Encouraged after his mother was cured of a serious eye complaint and converted to a strict religious life by Peter the Galatian, an ascetic living in the locality, Theodoret's parents sought further help from local holy men, as she had been childless for the twelve years of her marriage. For years their hopes remained unfulfilled. Eventually, Theodoret's birth was promised by a hermit named Macedonius the Barley-Eater on the condition of the child's dedication to God, from which the name Theodoret ("gift of God") is derived. Theodoret received an extensive education.