Saint of the Day – 20 April – St Theodore Trichinas (5th Century) Confessor, Hermit and Monk of Constantinople (modern Istanbul), Miracle-worker, graced with the charims of dispelling demons. After his death, a holy oil secreted from his tomb, had the property of curing illness.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “The same day, St Theodore, Confessor, surnamed Trichinas, from the rough hair garment which he wore. He was renowned for many miracles but especially for his power over the demons. From his body issued a liquid which imparts health to the sick.”
Theodore is one of the great Saints of the first centuries of Christianity in the East. Although there are no dates whic confirm the lifetime of St Theodore Trichinas it is known that he lived in the 5th Century.
Theodore, a young man from Constantinople, was attracted by the austere and intense spiritual life of Monks, who, following the example of the St Anthony Abbot (250-356), were increasingly abandoning their hermitage in the desert, to live in prayerful communities, hosted in permanent Monasteries.
Tradition reports that our Saint led an austere life, dedicating much of his time to prayer. He left the world and retired to a Monastery located at the foot of Mount St Absinthe beyond Chalcedon on the Bosphorus.
This Monastery later took its name from his nickname ‘Trichinas.’ This name was given to Theodore because of the long-haired tunic which was his only clothing.
Theodore’s sanctity soon enabled him to cast out demons and perform many miracles. After his death, his tomb became a place of pilgrimage, also because a miraculous ointment supposedly leaked from his tomb and his body, had the power to curing illnesses.
The cult of St Theodore Trichinas was completely unknown until the 16th Century, when the learned hagiographer, Cardinal Cesare Baronio, introduced him into the Roman Martyrology, on 20 April.
AnaStpaul 