Theodorus ( 505–523) was an Italian politician during the reign of

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...

. He held the

consulship The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

with Sabinianus as his colleague in 505. Theodorus was son of Caecina Decius Maximus Basilius (

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in 480), and brother of Albinus (consul in 493),

Avienus Avienus may refer to: * Gennadius Avienus (fl. 450–460s), Roman politician * Avienus (consul 501), Roman politician * Rufius Magnus Faustus Avienus (consul 502), Roman politician *Avienius, commonly (mis)spelled Avienus See also * Aviena gens, ...

(consul in 501), and Inportunus (consul in 509). While helping his brother Inportunus organize the games to celebrate Inportunus' consulate, the two of them were accused by the Greens of attacking them and killing one of their members. A surviving letter of Theodoric commands both of them to provide answers to these allegations before the tribunal of the ''inlustrius'' Caelianus and Agapitus. John Moorhead identifies Theodorus as the recipient of a surviving letter from bishop

Fulgentius of Ruspe Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, also known as Fulgentius of Ruspe (462 or 467 – 1 January 527 or 533), was a North African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe in what is now Tunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He is vene ...

, written in 520. While Fulgentius admits they do not know each other, he is writing Theodorus on account of a number of mutual friends, providing him a good deal of spiritual advice, and ends by asking Theodorus to pass his greetings to his mother and wife. "The letter," Moorhead notes, "providing as it does scarcely any concrete information about Theodorus, is doubtless chiefly of interest to the historian of spirituality, but it does enable us to locate Theodorus within another context, that of the circle of Fulgentius' correspondents." In 523, he was part of the entourage of

Pope John I Pope John I (; died 18 May 526) was the bishop of Rome from 13 August 523 to his death on 18 May 526. He was a native of Siena (or the "Castello di Serena", near Chiusdino), in Italy. He was sent on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople by the ...

, who had been ordered by King Theodoric to proceed to

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 ...

and obtain a moderation of Emperor Justin's decree of 523 against the

Arians Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered h ...

. Theodoric threatened that if John should fail in his mission, there would be reprisals against the orthodox Catholics in the West. Other Senators accompanying Pope John included his brother Inportunus, Agapitus, and the patrician Agapitus.Raymond Davis (translator), ''The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis)'', first edition (Liverpool: University Press, 1989), p. 49

References

{{end 6th-century western Roman consuls Decii Patricii