ST. THEODORA THE PROTECTRESS OF ICONS (FEB. 11TH)
St. Theodora the Protectress of Icons By Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) Empress Theodora (reigned AD 842–856) played a decisive role in the restoration of holy icons in the Byzantine Empire. As the wife of Emperor Theophilus (reigned AD 829–842), an ardent iconoclast, Theodora navigated a court hostile to sacred images, secretly keeping them despite the imperial edicts against their use. Her piety and political acumen ultimately led to what is now called the “Triumph of Orthodoxy”, celebrated annually on the first Sunday of Lent. During Theophilus’ reign, iconoclasm was not only a theological issue but also a political strategy, with the emperor drawing inspiration from Islamic prohibitions against religious imagery, seeing their recent defeats by the ever-expanding Islamic Caliphate as a judgment from God due to idolatry. The enforcement of iconoclastic policies led to the persecution of peasants, monks, and the simple faithful, and the destruction of sacred images, desecr...
