THEODORE OF JORDAN

On June 18 (5), the Church celebrates the memory of St. Theodore of Jordan. The surviving information about the saint is extremely sparse. In the life given by Saint Demetrius of Rostov, it is said that Saint Theodore was a eunuch, but then left worldly life and settled in the Jordan Desert. In the Eastern Roman Empire, which we used to call Byzantium, at the court in Constantinople, eunuchs carried out a special service. Deprived of certain worldly ambitions, since they could not marry and leave offspring, they often performed important power functions, because they enjoyed the trust of those in power. Apparently, Theodore was one of these formerly noble and powerful people.

By the 6th century, most of the Egyptian monasticism, as well as part of the Syrian one, sided with the opponents of the Council of Chalcedon, and therefore was not in Eucharistic communion with the rest of the Orthodox Church. Formally, they became Monophysites. Large monasteries gradually turned into episcopal residences and educational centers, where, hiding from the Orthodox Byzantine authorities, Monophysite bishops found refuge. In addition, small Egyptian monasteries and hermitages were often attacked by robbers. Therefore, the monasteries of Gaza and Palestine became a true haven of right faith and a safe place for asceticism. This explains why Theodore went from Constantinople to the Holy Land. Apparently, for the sake of his special spiritual closeness to the great Palestinian ascetics, his memory is celebrated on the same day as the great Hermit Father Abba Dorotheus of Gaza (510-580). Theodore was his contemporary.

According to the life, one day, on the way to Constantinople by ship, the pilgrims with whom Theodore himself was found to be without water. Then Theodore, having prayed, scooped up water from the sea, crossed it, and it turned out to be fresh. In the biblical perspective, from which ancient desert holiness grew, such a sign would mean the apotheosis of heroism. An obvious miracle could indicate that the Lord recognized his saint and gave him the grace of working miracles. But an inner voice told Theodore that God did not do this for his own sake, but only out of mercy for the sailors. So, Theodore himself realized that he was then asking God for the impossible.

Sea water could not become fresh. Such power over the forces of nature would require special New Testament boldness. It would be similar to the Gospel change of water into wine in Cana of Galilee (cf. John 2:1-11), the ability to move mountains (Matt. 17:20). A thing that only God Himself would be capable of. He is the King of the Universe, and the greatest right of a king is mercy. God took pity on the sailors and taught the saint a lesson. Theodore humbled himself and conveyed the meaning of what happened to those around him. Likewise, when we ask God for something in prayer, we will hope that we will receive what we ask not for our own sake, but for the benefit of our neighbors in need, and, most importantly, for the sake of those saints who, like Theodore of Jordan, are now in Heaven. They offer prayers for us.