Theodemir or Theodomar ( Galician and ; died 847), was a bishop of

Iria , stylized as ''I・Я・I・A ZЁIЯAM THE ANIMATION'', is a six-episode original video animation (OVA) anime series produced by Ashi Productions and directed by Tetsurō Amino. The series serves as a prequel to the original live-action film ...

, in Galicia.

Background

At some point between year 818, when Bishop Quendulf was still alive, and 842 when king

Alfonso II of Asturias Alfonso II of Kingdom of Asturias, Asturias (842), nicknamed the Chaste (), was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepotian of Asturias, Nepotian ...

died,

Pelagius the Hermit Pelagius (Spanish: Pelayo, Paio or Pelagio) was a hermit or anchorite who lived in Solovio in the Libredón forest in 813 AD. Narrative According to some sources, Solovio was an ancient Celtic fort, but other sources take it to be a necropoli ...

saw mysterious lights, like a shower of stars, on the same hill in the forest near Libredon every night. He went and reported the phenomenon to Bishop Theodemir. On July 25, 812, Theodemir gathered a small entourage and went to Libredon to see the phenomenon for himself. There, in the dense vegetation, they discovered a stone sepulchre in which rested the corpses of three men, who were immediately identified as the Apostle

James the Great James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...

and two of his disciples,

Theodore and Athanasius The (or ''Codex Compostellus'') is a manuscript that is the main witness for the 12th-century ('Book of Saint James'), a pseudepigraph attributed to Pope Calixtus II. The principal author or compiler of the ''Liber'' is thus referred to as "Ps ...

. Theodemir believed that this was in line with the Breviary of the Apostles, which taught that James was buried in an ark in Marmarica (arca marmarica), probably an ark from

Marmarica Marmarica (, ) in Greco-Roman geography, ancient geography was a littoral area in Ancient Libya, located between ''Cyrenaica'' and ''Egypt (Roman province), Aegyptus''. It corresponds to what is now the Libya and Egypt frontier, including the t ...

, Ancient Libya. But he said "arca de mármol" or an ark of marble was meant. In August 2024, a team of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology concluded that the bones found under the floor of the

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish language, Spanish and Galician language, Galician: ) is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an inte ...

in 1955 are those of Bishop Theodemir with 98% certainty.” His Mtdna was: T2b9b. Probably goth origins. FTDNA has added Bishop Theodomir of Iria Flavia to their Notable Connections collection. They have him as: R-M269>DF27>Z195>BY3268

References

Bishops and archbishops of Iria and Compostela 847 deaths Year of birth unknown 9th-century Asturian people {{Spain-RC-bishop-stub