Aysor, Armenia
Feb 20 2010

Commemoration day of St. Theodoros the Captain

Today is the commemoration day of St. Theodoros the Captain.

St. Theodoros the Captain is a Saint recognized by all traditional
churches of Christendom. The Armenian Church commemorates this Saint
on the first Saturday during the period of Great Lent.

According to hagiographers, St. Theodoros was born to God-fearing and
pious parents in the village of Saroo, near the town of
Amasia. He was a soldier in the Roman Army, and rose through the
ranks, eventually becoming a Captain.

In the beginning of the fourth century, Rome was under the rule of the
Emperor Diocletian. Instead of worshipping at the temple of the pagan
goddess Rea, as he had been instructed to, St. Theodoros burns the
temple to the ground, thus demonstrating that pagan idols were false.
For this act, Diocletian imprisons St. Theodoros, and he suffers
severe tortures. In the year 306 A.D., he is martyred by being set on
fire.

St. Theodoros is also known as the `Slayer of the Dragon’, as he was
said to have defeated a great and mighty dragon due to his courage and
faith.