Theodosius of Oria

Saint Theodosius of Oria
Saint Theodosius of Oria
	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
Died	late 9th century
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Major shrine	Oria
Feast	August 30
Patronage	Oria

Last updated May 02, 2024

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.

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, at the time the only Byzantine port in Italy.^[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 as well as 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 neighbouring 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, which was later built on top of the chapel, that mentions that event.^[6]

His pastoral and building activity was 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 build for these relics a basilica dedicated to 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' ancestor win.^[6]

Veneration

Due to his diplomatic and building activity, Theodosius was considered a patron of his city 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]

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References

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.
↑ 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.
↑ 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.
1 2 Dvornik, Francis (1948). The Photian Schism. CUP Archive. pp. 228–230. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
↑ 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.
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.
↑ Nicolella, Damiano. "San Teodosio di Oria". Santiebeati.it. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

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[Preradovic-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.

[Dvornik-4] 1 2 Dvornik, Francis (1948). The Photian Schism. CUP Archive. pp. 228–230. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

[Falkenhausen-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.

[Safran-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.

[Santiebeati-7] Nicolella, Damiano. "San Teodosio di Oria". Santiebeati.it. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

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