Theodora Petraliphaina (),

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

as Saint Theodora of Arta (; ca. 1225 – after 1270), was a

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

and an Orthodox Christian saint.

Life

Her life is known mostly from a short

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

written by the monk Job, sometimes identified with the late-13th century cleric Job Iasites. In view of the many chronological and genealogical errors however, this identification is open to question. Theodora was the daughter of the ''

sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' (, ; ; ), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence (Bulgarian Empire, Serbian Empire). The word is a compound ...

John Petraliphas John Petraliphas () was a Byzantine noble and governor of Thessaly and Macedonia in the late 12th/early 13th century with the rank of ''sebastokrator''. Biography John was a member of the Petraliphas family, which was of Italo-Norman origin. Acco ...

, governor of

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

and

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. She was born in

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...

sometime between 1210 and 1216, and married

Michael II Komnenos Doukas Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Comnenus Ducas (, ''Mikhaēl II Komnēnos Doukas''), often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was from 1230 until his death in 1266/68 the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, which included Epirus ...

, the ruler of

and Thessaly shortly after his accession in 1231, while still a child.Kazhdan (1991), p. 2038 Despite her being pregnant with Michael's son

Nikephoros Nikephoros (), Nikiforos or Nicephorus is a Greek male name, meaning "Bringer of Victory", which was commonly used among the Byzantine Empire's aristocracy. It may refer to: Rulers * Nikephoros I Logothetes, Byzantine emperor 802–811 * Nikeph ...

, she was soon banished from the court by her husband, who preferred to live with his mistress. Living in poverty, she endured her hardship without complaint, sheltered by a priest from the village of Prinista. Her exile lasted for five years, after which Michael repented and called her back to him. The couple thereafter lived together. As consort of Epirus, Theodora is reported to have favoured closer ties with Epirus' traditional rival for the succession of the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

imperial heritage, the

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by Walter Abel Heurtley, W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C ...

. She is also recorded by the contemporary historian

George Akropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople. Life In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the logo ...

as accompanying her son Nikephoros for his betrothal and later his marriage to

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, the daughter of the Nicaean emperor

Theodore II Laskaris Theodore II Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris (; November 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Empress Irene Laskarina. His mother was the eldest da ...

(r. 1254–1258). The rapprochement brought about a settlement of the two realms' ecclesiastical disputes and led to the conferment of the title of ''

despotes Despot or ''despotes'' () was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent of the Byzantine emperor. From Byzantium it spread throughout the late medie ...

'' on Michael, but did not last long. Theodora also founded the convent of St. George in the Epirote capital, Arta, where she retired after Michael's death, and where she was buried. It later became known as the Church of St. Theodora, and her tomb became the site of pilgrimage, as many miracles have been attributed to it. She is the patroness saint of Arta, and is commemorated by the

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...

on March 11.Talbot (1996), pp. 324, 332ff.

Family

By her marriage with Michael she had six children, including: *

Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Nicephorus I Comnenus Ducas (; – ) was ruler of Epirus from 1267/8 to his death in 1296/98. Life Born around 1240, Nikephoros was the eldest son of the Despot of Epirus, Michael II Komnenos Doukas ...

, who succeeded Michael as ruler of Epirus * John Doukas *

Demetrios Doukas Komnenos Koutroules Demetrios, later renamed Michael, Doukas Komnenos Koutroules Angelos (; ) was the third son of the ruler of Epirus, Michael II Komnenos Doukas (ruled 1230–68), also surnamed Koutroules, and his wife Theodora of Arta. In 1278, he married Anna K ...

* Helena Angelina Doukaina, who married

Manfred of Sicily Manfred (; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the Kingdom of Sicily on b ...

Anna Komnene Doukaina Anna Komnene Doukaina (died 4 January 1286), known in French as Agnes, was princess-consort of the Principality of Achaea in 1258–1278 and regent between 1259–1262, during the captivity of her husband, Prince William II of Villehardouin, by th ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodora Of Arta 1220s births 1270s deaths 13th-century Byzantine people Byzantine saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Consorts of Epirus Komnenodoukas dynasty Petraliphas family 13th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Christian female saints of the Middle Ages People from Thessaloniki