Theodorus Lector (, ''Theodoros Anagnostes''; fl. 6th century AD) was a lector, or reader, at the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

during the early sixth century. He wrote two works of history; one is a collection of sources which relates events beginning in 313, during Constantine's early reign, down to 439, during the reign of

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

. The other is Theodorus' own work, retelling events from the death of Theodosius II in 450 to the beginning of

Justin I Justin I (; ; 450 – 1 August 527), also called Justin the Thracian (; ), was Roman emperor from 518 to 527. Born to a peasant family, he rose through the ranks of the army to become commander of the imperial guard and when Emperor Anastasi ...

's reign in 518. The former work is important to scholars editing the authors quoted by Theodorus; the latter exists only in fragment and owes its importance more to the "scantiness of our information concerning the period it treats rather than its merits."

''Historia Tripartita''

While a lector at Hagia Sophia, Theodorus collected the works of the fifth-century historians

Socrates Scholasticus Socrates of Constantinople ( 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus (), was a 5th-century Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret. He is the author of a ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' ("Church Hi ...

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos (; ; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home Sozoman was born around 400 in Bethelia, a small town near Gaza, into a wealthy Christia ...

, and

Theodoret of Cyrrhus Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus (; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pivotal role in several 5th-century Byzantine ...

to create a chronicle of church history from Constantine to Theodosius II. The resulting work, ''Selections from Church History'' (), known better by its Latin title ''Historia Tripartita'', is a single narrative in four books which gives Theodorus' preferred reading for each section of history related, with notes and comparisons in the margins.

''Historia Ecclesiastica''

Theodorus later continued his chronicle, using other available sources to write his ''Church History'' () from the death of Theodosius II down to 518. The date of composition is not known, though it was probably finished before 543, as it can be conjectured that Theodorus would not have spoken of the "holy memory" of Theodoret following the onset of the

Three-Chapter Controversy The Three-Chapter Controversy, a phase in the Chalcedonian controversy, was an attempt to reconcile the non-Chalcedonians of Syria and Egypt with Chalcedonian Christianity, following the failure of the '' Henotikon''. The ''Three Chapters'' ( ...

. The chronicle has not survived; excerpts exist in other chronicles, and it is also quoted in a tract by

John of Damascus John of Damascus or John Damascene, born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn, was an Arab Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and apologist. He was born and raised in Damascus or AD 676; the precise date and place of his death is not know ...

, and by the acts of the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics and others. ...

. It is believed that a badly damaged manuscript of this work survives in the Library of St. Mark's in Venice, however no scholarly research has yet been done into it. A critical edition based on all extant excerpts of the ''Church History'' was published by Polish scholars in 2020.

Notes

References

External links

Theodorus Lector
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Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

article
Theodorus Lector
- ''Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D'' (at

CCEL The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts. Description CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a pr ...

) * (In Greek) Theodorus Lector in

Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (''PG'', or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–18 ...

, vol. 86
View online.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lector, Theodorus 6th-century deaths 6th-century Byzantine historians Year of birth unknown