Theodosius of Oria

Last updated
Saint Theodosius of Oria
Theodosius of Oria.jpeg
Painting by Samuele Tatulli depicting the arrival in Ostuni of the relics of Saint Barsanuphius. The three characters in the foreground are (from left to right) the saint, Bishop Theodosius, and the personified diocese of Oria.
Bishop of Brindisi and Oria
Diedlate 9th century
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine Oria
Feast August 30
Patronage Oria

Theodosius of Oria (Italian : Teodosio di Oria) was a 9th-century bishop and papal legate. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church on August 30.

Contents

Biography

Theodosius is thought to have been educated in Oria by Eastern hermits and monks and may have been a young courtier at the Imperial Court of Constantinople. It has been suggested that he was Roman or Neapolitan due to his name. [1] Oria was at the time an important stronghold of the Byzantine Empire, as it protected the hinterland of Otranto, which was the only Byzantine port in Italy at that time. [2] Due to its relative security, the bishopric of Brindisi was moved to Oria around the Arab conquest of Brindisi in 838. [1] Though the town of Oria was under Byzantine rule, the bishopric followed the Latin rite.

At some point, Theodosius became bishop of Brindisi and Oria, possibly appointed by the pope after the end of the Muslim occupation. [1] Theodosius acted as a mediator in the conflicts between the Byzantines and the Lombards and between the Eastern and Western churches. He was sent in 884 as apocrisiarius by Pope Hadrian III to Constantinople to convey a synodal letter to patriarch Photius about faith and the filioque. Theodosius seems to have come back while Hadrian was still alive, with many riches and likely a communication from emperor Basil I, for which he was thanked by Pope Stephen V. [3] [4] As a reward, he received some relics of Chrysanthus and Daria for whom he erected a church that might have been the predecessor of the current cathedral. [1]

In 887, he convened a local synod in which he reminded, among other things, his priests to remain celibate, possibly in contrast to the Greek priests in neighboring regions. [5] The acts of the synod show, in general, that the local clergy remained Latin and Roman. [4]

Around the same time, he deposited the relics of St Barsanuphius, a Gazan hermit, in a chapel he built close to the porta Hebraica. There is a didactic inscription in the crypt of the church of San Francesco da Paola that mentions the event, which was later built on top of the chapel. [6]

His pastoral and building activity were not only concentrated in Oria; he was also successful in obtaining the relics of Saint Leucius of Brindisi, the founder of the diocese of Brindisi, back from Benevento as a gift from its bishop. Theodosius built a basilica dedicated to the relics of these saints, which was located above the original martyrium. The basilica was demolished in the 18th century. [1]

Chronicle of Ahimaaz

Ahimaaz ben Paltiel wrote in the Chronicle of Ahimaaz that Theodosius wagered one of his ancestors about when the new moon would appear and claimed that although Theodosius had calculated the date correctly, God intervened to have Ahimaaz's ancestor win. [6]

Veneration

Theodosius was considered a patron of his city for his diplomatic and building activity, and his deeds were perpetuated in local history and tradition, similar to other bishops at the time such as Donatus of Zadar. [1] Theodosius is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church on August 30. [7]

Related Research Articles

Pope Adrian III or Hadrian III was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 17 May 884 to his death. He served for little more than a year, during which he worked to help the people of Italy in a very troubled time of famine and war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Council of Nicaea</span> Ecumenical council of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church (787 AD)

The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, and others. Protestant opinions on it are varied.

The 380s decade ran from January 1, 380, to December 31, 389.

The 540s decade ran from January 1, 540, to December 31, 549.

The 360s decade ran from January 1, 360, to December 31, 369.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">544</span> Calendar year

Year 544 (DXLIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 544 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Telesphorus</span> Head of the Catholic Church from c. 126 to c. 137

Pope Telesphorus was the bishop of Rome from c. 126 to his death c. 137, during the reigns of Roman Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He was of Greek ancestry and born in Terranova da Sibari, Calabria, Italy.

Theodosius is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otranto</span> Comune in Apulia, Italy

Otranto is a coastal town, port and comune in the province of Lecce, in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oria, Apulia</span> Comune in Apulia, Italy

Oria is a town and comune in the Apulia region, in the province of Brindisi, in southern Italy. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">January 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)</span> Day in the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar

January 10 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - January 12

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Otranto</span> Catholic archdiocese in Italy

The Archdiocese of Otranto is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. The seat of the diocese is at Otranto Cathedral in the city of Otranto, Apulia. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lecce.

Miriarcha is the name given in the Chronicon breve normannicum to the Byzantine general who led the defence of the Catapanate of Italy in 1060–1062. The anonymous chronicler has, however, misinterpreted the Greek title merarches as a name. The actual name of the general is unknown, and since the rank of merarches is not otherwise clearly attested in southern Italy his exact function is not known either. Probably the office was immediately below that of the catapan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barsanuphius</span> Palestinian hermit, church writer

Barsanuphius, also known as Barsanuphius of Palestine, Barsanuphius of Gaza or Barsanuphius the Great, was a Christian hermit and writer of the sixth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostuni</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Apulia, Italy

The Archdiocese of Brindisi-Ostium is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Apulia, has carried its present name since 1986. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lecce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Italy

The Diocese of Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Apulia, has existed under this name since 1959. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lecce. The historic Diocese of Ugento has existed since the thirteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Oria</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Italy

The Diocese of Oria is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Apulia. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Taranto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leucius of Brindisi</span> Missionary and martyr

Saint Leucius was initially a missionary from Alexandria, Egypt, who later founded the Diocese of Brindisi, as the first Bishop in 165. It is believed that he later suffered martyrdom in 180.

This is a timeline of the presence of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece from 717 to 1204. The history of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically, as well as the territory now composing the modern state of Greece.

San Francesco da Paola is a renaissance-style, former Roman Catholic church located in the town of Oria, province of Brindisi, Apulia, Italy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Preradovic´, Dubraka (2021). "Donato di Zara, Teodosio di Oria ele traslazioni delle reliquie nelle città bizantine dell'Adriaticonel IX secolo". Bisanzio sulle due sponde del Canale d'Otranto [Byzantium on both banks of the Otranto Canal]. Spoleto: Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull'alto Medioevo. pp. 100–111. ISBN   978-88-6809-355-6 . Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  2. ↑ Vera von Falkenhausen (14 October 2011). "The Jews in Byzantine Southern Italy". In Stroumsa, Guy G.; Irshai, Oded; Talgam, Rina; Bonfil, Robert (eds.). Jews in Byzantium: Dialectics of Minority and Majority Cultures. BRILL. pp. 283–284. ISBN   978-90-04-21644-0 . Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  3. ↑ McCormick, Michael (2001). Origins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce AD 300-900. Cambridge University Press. p. 959. ISBN   978-0-521-66102-7 . Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 Dvornik, Francis (1948). The Photian Schism. CUP Archive. pp. 228–230. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  5. ↑ Vera von Falkenhausen (1 February 2021). "Greek and Latin in Byzantine Italy". In Cosentino, Salvatore (ed.). A Companion to Byzantine Italy. BRILL. p. 561. ISBN   978-90-04-30770-4 . Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  6. 1 2 Safran, Linda (18 April 2014). The Medieval Salento: Art and Identity in Southern Italy. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 162, 182, 295. ISBN   978-0-8122-4554-7 . Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  7. ↑ Nicolella, Damiano. "San Teodosio di Oria". Santiebeati.it. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.