Holy Empress Theodora, the wife of Byzantine emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast (829-842), secretly venerated holy icons despite her husband’s heresy. After Theophilus’ death, Saint Theodora took charge of the realm due to her son Michael being a minor.
She organized a Council where the Iconoclasts were condemned, and the veneration of icons was restored. Saint Theodora established the annual commemoration of this event, known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy, on the first Sunday of the Great Fast. She played a significant role in promoting Orthodoxy and instilling devotion in her son Michael.
Upon Michael reaching adulthood, she retired from governance and spent eight years in the monastery of Saint Euphrosynē, engaging in ascetic practices and spiritual reading.
Her handwritten copy of the Gospels is still in existence. She passed away peacefully around 867.
In 1460, her relics were transferred by the Turks to the people of Kerkyra (Corfu).
Empress Theodora, a native of Paphlagonia and daughter of Marinus, a military regiment commander, was married to Emperor Theophilus, the final Iconoclast ruler. Despite her husband’s stance, she privately honored icons during his reign. Following his death, she restored public veneration of icons, marked on the Sunday of Orthodoxy. She governed wisely for fifteen years until relinquishing power in 857 to reside in a Constantinople convent named Gastria, where she lived a holy life until her passing. Her incorrupt remains rest in Corfu’s Church of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Cave.
Greek empress Theodora, spouse of Emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast, assumed the role of ruling empress after his death, co-reigning with her son Michael III. At the 842 A.D. Council in Constantinople, she reinstated icon veneration, leading to the establishment of the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy celebrated on the First Sunday of Great Lent. She departed on February 11, 867 A.D., coinciding with the triumph of Orthodoxy and the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius to the Slavs.