Saints Theodora and Didymus (died 304) are

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

s whose

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

is based on a 4th-century ''acta'' and the word of

Saint Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...

. The pair were

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed in the reigns of co-ruling Roman Emperors

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

and

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was '' Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

us. St. Theodora should not be confused with another St. Theodora of Alexandria commemorated on September 11.

Legend

Theodora was a young noblewoman of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

who had refused to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. Standing trial before the

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Eustratius, she bravely confessed herself a Christian. The prefect asked why she had not married, pointing out that she was of a noble family and beautiful and could have her choice of husbands. She replied that she had dedicated herself to God, and had resolved to remain a virgin for the name of Christ. Eustratius had her imprisoned, giving her time to reconsider, and he threatened to have her taken to a brothel if she persisted in her disobedience. Three days later, Theodora was brought again to trial, but remained resolute. Accordingly, Theodora was taken to a brothel. Dissolute youths began to argue which of them should be the first to have her. The Christian Didymus, dressed in soldier's garb, entered and chased the profligates out. Didymus exchanged clothes with her, and she escaped. When a man came to despoil the virgin, Didymus revealed himself. Didymus was taken prisoner and brought to the prefect, where he was condemned to death. Saint Ambrose says that Theodora could not allow her savior to die alone and that she joined Didymus before Proculus. Didymus and, according to Ambrose, Theodora were beheaded. Didymus's body was burned. They are not included in the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approve ...

, the official list of saints of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Church. The story of Theodora and Didymus is almost identical to that of Saints Antonia and Alexander. The theme of the story might reflect the institution of

religious prostitution Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, and religious prostitution are rites consisting of paid intercourse performed in the context of religious worship, possibly as a form of fertility rite or divine marriage (). Scholars ...

, prevalent in the ancient

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, as remembered in a highly-disapproving Christian tradition.

Adaptations

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patron ...

wrote in 1645 a

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

''Theodore, virgin and martyr'', based on this story, but he transferred it to Antioch. It was a signal failure, removed after only five performances. Corneille's play was the basis of

Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders ...

's version, ''The Martyrdom of Theodora, and of Didymus'', privately composed and circulated in 1648-9 then published by Boyle in a revised edition in 1687. Boyle's version was read into the eighteenth century, with

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

commenting that it was "the first 'attempt to employ the ornaments of romance in the decoration of religion.'" The oratorio '' Theodora'' composed by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

in 1749 was based on the story of Theodora and Didymus.

Antonina and Alexander

Saints Antonina and Alexander were

s of 313, and they are

s whose ''acta'' are legendary. The story of the two is nearly identical to that of

Saints Theodora and Didymus Saints Theodora and Didymus (died 304) are Christian saints whose legend is based on a 4th-century ''acta'' and the word of Saint Ambrose. The pair were martyred in the reigns of co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximianus. St. Theodora ...

. Under

, all Roman women of suitable age were commanded to marry and, if possible, produce children. At the same time, Diocletian persecuted Christians. The legend of Antonina and Alexander has the former being forced to a

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...

(the penalty for women who refused to wed), where a Christian soldier named Alexander came to her in the guise of a customer. Instead of deflowering her, he traded clothes with her, allowing Antonina to escape. Alexander was discovered very soon after, and both Antonina and Alexander were executed by being burned alive. "Antonina" and "Alexander" may be

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and image ...

device names that made oral repetition of the tale easier, and so it is possible, if not likely, that they are invented names. Whether Theodora and Didymus were the originals or not, it is possible that these legends are shadows of an actual martyrdom that had been lost to the story tellers. The

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

of Antonina and Alexander in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

is May 3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodora And Didymus 3rd-century births 304 deaths Saints from Roman Egypt Late Ancient Christian female saints Ancient Roman soldiers Groups of Christian martyrs of the Roman era 4th-century Christian martyrs 4th-century Romans Saints duos Legendary Romans