Theodora 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 ...

was a saint and Desert Mother who was married to a

prefect of Egypt During the Roman Empire, the governor of Roman Egypt ''(praefectus Aegypti)'' was a prefect who administered the Egypt (Roman province), Roman province of Egypt with the delegated authority ''(imperium)'' of the Roman emperor, emperor. Egypt was ...

. In order to perform

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part ...

for adultery, she disguised herself as a man and, pretending to be a eunuch, joined a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

in the

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...

. Her true identity as a woman was discovered only after her death. A rare image of Theodora in Western art is a print by

Bernardino Capitelli Bernardino Capitelli (1589–1639) was an Italian painter and etcher of the Baroque period. He was born in Siena. He became a pupil of Alessandro Casolani, and then of Rutilio Manetti, and between the years 1622 and 1637 was active in both at R ...

, made in 1627 for Theodora Costa dal Pozzo, showing the saint disguised as a monk and caring for the child she was accused of fathering (Vienna: Graphische Sammlung

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

). Theodora is honored with a Lesser Feast (with

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

, and Syncletica) on the

liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which ...

of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

on 5 January.

References

{{authority control Eastern Orthodox saints Late Ancient Christian female saints 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Byzantine people Byzantine female saints Cross-dressing saints Ancient Alexandrians Saints from Roman Egypt Byzantine saints 5th-century Byzantine women 5th-century Egyptian people 5th-century Egyptian women Anglican saints