St. Theodore’s Melons

ST. THEODORE OF TARSUS, EDESSA AND CANTERBURY - OUR ENGLISH PATRIMONY’S CONNECTION TO THE CHURCH OF THE EAST

Edited by Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

St. Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury in the late seventh century (AD 668-690), came from Tarsus (now in Turkey), and brought valuable knowledge of Greek and Syrian culture to the English church. He is thought to be responsible for the introduction of “Secret Prayers” in the Liturgy and teaching the British to chant the Litany of the Saints, a practice that eventually caught on throughout Europe. 

As a young man, Theodore studied in Antioch and the School of Edessa. Only in his fifties did he move first to Rome, and then to England.

Years later, he told his Canterbury students about the cucumbers of Edessa and how they grew so large that a camel could scarcely carry two of them. 

Colorized Picture of Iraqi Melons from the Early 1900’s

One of these students remembered the detail and added it to a commentary on the Biblical Book of Numbers, in the place where it mentions "cucumbers and melons"; these of course would not be familiar to an English audience:

“Cucumbers and melons are the same thing, but cucumbers are called pepones when they grow large, and often one pepon will weigh thirty pounds. In the city of Edessa, they grow so large that a camel can scarcely carry two of them.” 

This is local knowledge of a Syrian city - probably from the mouth of Archbishop Theodore himself - and then noted down by an English monk living on the edge of the known world in the 7th-century! 

This wonderful textual note shows how close many of the ancient Churches were, and how they influenced one another, even though we often assume that they had little overlap! 

A Typical Covered Market Frequented by Christian Farmers in Mosul, Iraq, Sketched in the 1860’s

(Text edited from Marie Hilder, The Anglo-Saxon History and Culture Blog)