Memory of the Venerable Theodora of Tsaregrad. Life of Venerable Theodora of Alexandria

ALEXANDRIAN.

The holy virgin Theodora labored in Alexandria; According to the monuments it is called Alexandria. According to her instructions, it is more than likely that she was the abbess of the community of virgins. According to her words, it is clear that she lived at the time as the Alexandrian Church
ruled by Archbishop Theophilus 1. Between the letters of Saint Isidore of Pelusiot, who lived during the time of Theophilus and Cyril of Alexandria, there is a letter to the sandal nuns of Alexandria. This name means that the nuns of Blessed Theodora wore sandals on their feet, while the Thebaid hermits walked barefoot. “The female sex,” the monk wrote, “has no right to leniency: it can courageously resist seduction and repel attacks of desires. This is taught by the glorious Susanna, the daughter of Jephaah, and the amazing Judith... And the head of women’s victories and trophies, the all-praised Thekla, who stood as an unchanging pillar of virginity, like a fire, kindled among the waves of passions, sailed to a safe harbor. If you want to be
As such, keep the lamps unquenchable: the Bridegroom will soon come. Let not any sleep of voluptuousness lull you, which leaves the drowsy and careless outside the doors of the bridal chamber" 2. Blessed Theodora cheerfully awaited the Heavenly Bridegroom, vigilantly watched over the states of her soul, not allowing the power of sin over her. According to the monuments, the name of Saint Theodora the generous remains behind her. This means that she was distinguished in life by her special love for deeds of mercy. Through the exploits of many years, she achieved high spiritual experience, so that her instructions were written down and went into a book of spiritual advice.
She invited us to choose the narrow path indicated by the Savior as the path necessary for spiritual improvement. “Try,” she said, “to enter through the narrow gate. If the trees were not exposed to the pressure of winds, rain and cold during the cold season, they would not bear fruit in the summer. Earthly life with its hardships is our winter. If you do not endure sorrows and trials, do not expect peace beyond the grave.”
“The benefits of a solitary life are invaluable, especially for young virgins and hermits. But you need to strictly monitor yourself so as not to drown in laziness or despondency. Under the pretext of what you want peace of mind indulge in bodily peace and reach spiritual troubles; a feeling of fatigue appears, the knees relax, and now one disease or another appears. “I’m sick,” they say, “I can’t read the prescribed prayers.” But the point is that they do not excite themselves to firmness. One monk, when the hour of prayer approached, felt a fever and pain in his head. Once he says to himself: “Yes, I feel bad; Perhaps I’ll die: let me get up and pray to God more diligently than usual.” So he forced himself to stand in prayer and read the prescribed prayers. It turned out that he had not yet finished his prayers when he felt light, and when he read, all his illness disappeared. After that, he began to fight evil laziness in the same way, and every time he felt fresh and healthy after prayer.”
“A Christian, talking with a Manichaean, who insisted that the body is the source of evil and the work of a demon, answered him intelligently: subject your body to Christian mortification, and make sure that the body was created by God.” “One respected man,” she also said, “was showered with cruel abuse. Having listened to the abuse, he answered calmly: I could answer you with the same abuse, but Christ’s law stops my mouth.” “Neither vigils nor physical labor will bring us to salvation if there is no humility in the soul. There was a holy hermit who drove out spirits from those possessed by demons. Once he asked the demon what drives him away, isn’t it fasting? “No,” he answered, “and we are fasting.” Isn't it a vigil? "No; you know that we don’t sleep and are very active.” Isn't life a desert? "No; and we walk through deserts.” What virtue is it that drives you out? “Humility defeats us, we do not tolerate humility,” he answered. You see,” continued Theodora, “humility is the virtue that gives us victory over evil spirits.”
She did not allow anyone to leave her cell because of temptation. “Temptations,” she said, “will follow us everywhere. The hermit, tormented by temptation, was getting ready to go on the road to leave his cell. But suddenly he sees that someone is human form puts on sandals and tells him - maybe you are leaving here for my sake; but I assure you that I walk faster than you, and wherever you go, you will find me. You see, he also laughed at the inexperienced hermit.”
This is a wonderful lesson given by the saint for those in charge! “Whoever does not know how,” she said, “to lead other souls to salvation, let him give up the thought of being in charge. The boss should not harbor any pride or desire for power. He should not be a plaything of flattery and should not be blinded by gifts. The boss must be meek, full of humility, patient; he must be strictly honest and straightforward; should be, by the way, lenient and strict at the right time. His love should take care of others as of himself” 3.
Saint Theodora died around 415 4.

1 “Mother Theodora asked Pope Theophilus,” says the Patericon.
2 Works of Saint Isidore Pelusiot. M., 1859. Part 1
3 Memorable tales.
4 According to the Greek Menaion, January 12 is the memory of St. Theodora of Alexandria. Among the Copts, St. Theodora the generous April 11 (6) day (Ludolfi. Ad soam historiam aethiopicam commentaries).

As presented by Archbishop Filoret of Chernigov.

Memory Saint Theodora of Alexandria takes place in the Orthodox Church on September 24 according to the new style.

Saint Theodora was the wife of a pious Christian, with whom she lived happily for several years. family life. The indescribable peace that abided in this pious family greatly irritated the enemy of the human race. Therefore, the evil spirit deceived one rich man, drawing his attention to the external beauty of the Christian Theodora. Rich man, inflamed passionate desire to commit adultery with a pious woman, he repeatedly made attempts to fulfill his intention, but he was unable to obtain Theodora’s voluntary consent. But the man could not stop in his sinful intention and paid money to one procurer so that she could persuade Theodora to commit this sin.
Theodora trusted other people and therefore began to communicate with the bribed woman, who by cunning was able to instill in the gullible Christian the idea that the Lord does not blame a person for a sin committed at night. Impressed by these words, Theodora committed adultery, but when she realized her act, she almost fell into extreme despondency: she began to tear out the hair on her head and beat herself on the cheeks. Tormented by pangs of conscience, Theodora came to a familiar abbess of the monastic monastery and told about her grief. The abbess began to console the woman who had fallen into adultery, citing examples from the Holy Scriptures about God's forgiveness of even the most sinful people, subject to their repentance. Despair in Theodora’s heart gave way to tearful repentance: the holy saint decided to go for a solitary monastic life to a holy monastery in order to bring true repentance in the form of unceasing prayer, abstinence and labors for the glory of God.
Secretly from all her relatives, the Monk Theodora dressed men's clothing and came to the monastery, since she was wary of what her husband might discover in convent. The abbot of the monastery did not immediately accept the ascetic: at first he did not even allow her to enter the courtyard of the holy monastery. But the holy saint introduced herself as Theodore, who had come from Alexandria, and showed a strong desire to live in the monastery to carry out penitential labors. The abbot blessed the ascetic to live in the monastery when he saw the firmness of her intentions.
The degree of dedication with which Saint Theodora carried out her monastic obediences aroused surprise among other monks. After eight years of life in the holy monastery, the body of Saint Theodora amazed with the spiritual power of God’s grace that flowed from it.
One day, the abbot of the monastery sent Saint Theodora to the city to buy bread, and also ordered her, if necessary, to stay overnight in the Enat monastery, with whose abbot he maintained friendly relations. Circumstances so happened that the saint had to stay overnight in this monastery. At the same time, in the hotel building of the holy monastery there was the daughter of its abbot, who at that time wished to visit her parent. Seeing the beautiful appearance of the monk Theodore, the daughter of the abbot tried to persuade the saint of God to the sin of fornication, since she mistook her for a man. But when the saint gave a decisive refusal prodigal daughter, she committed the desired sin with another man who was in the monastery hotel, from whom the child was conceived. Saint Theodora fulfilled the obedience of the abbot and returned to her monastery.
The prodigal girl told her father that the child was conceived by the monk Theodore. Then the monks of the Enata monastery, after the birth of the boy, brought him to the monastery to Saint Theodora and began to accuse her of fornication. The abbot also believed their slander and expelled the holy ascetic and baby from the monastery. The reverend wife built herself a hut next to the monastery, in which she fed the child with milk, which was given by shepherds grazing cattle nearby, while the ascetic herself ate herbs. Seven years later, the abbot allowed her to return to the monastery along with the boy, and after the death of Saint Theodora, the truth about her innocence was revealed. The husband of the Monk Theodora and her adopted son labored in this monastery.

Troparion, tone 8:
In you, your mother knows that you were saved by the image:/ having accepted the cross, you followed Christ,/ and in your actions you taught, to despise the flesh, for it passes away,/ but to adhere to the souls of things more immortal:/ in the same way, Venerable Theodoro, the spirit also rejoices with the Angels is yours.

Kontakion, voice 2:
Having exhausted your body with fasts, / with vigilant prayers you begged the Creator for your sin, / so that you would receive complete forgiveness, / and you accepted abandonment, showing the path of repentance.

Magnification:
We bless you, / Venerable Mother Theodoro, / and honor your holy memory, / mentor of nuns, / and interlocutor of Angels.

Born in the middle of the 6th century in the village of Sikey, near the city of Anastasiopolis (Asia Minor), into a pious family. When his mother Mary conceived the saint, she had a vision in a dream that a bright star descended into her womb. The perspicacious elder to whom she turned explained that it was the grace of God that descended on the baby she conceived.

When the boy reached the age of six, his mother gave him a gold belt because she wanted her son to become a warrior. At night, the Great Martyr George appeared to her in a dream vision and ordered her not to think about military service son because the baby was destined to serve God. The saint's father, Cosmas, who served as a walker for Emperor Justinian the Great (527 - 565), died early. The boy remained in the care of his mother, with whom his grandmother Epidia, aunt Dispenia and little sister Vlatta lived.

The pious elder Stefan lived in his mother’s house. Imitating him, Saint Theodore, from the age of 8, began to Lent eat only a small piece of bread in the evening. So that his mother would not force him to have dinner with everyone else, the boy returned from school only in the evening, after he had received Holy Communion in church. At the request of his mother, the teacher began to let him go to lunch during a break in classes. But Saint Theodore went to the church of the Great Martyr George, where the patron of the temple appeared to him in the form of a young man and led him into the temple.

At the age of twelve, the saint was honored in a subtle dream to see the King of Glory Christ on the Throne, Who said: “Strive, Theodore, to receive a perfect reward in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

From that time on, Saint Theodore began to work even harder. He spent the first and Cross-Worship weeks of Great Lent in complete silence.

The devil planned to destroy him. He appeared to the holy boy in the form of a classmate of Gerontius, began to persuade him to jump into the abyss, and even himself set an example in this. But the boy was saved by his patron, the Great Martyr George.

One day a boy went for a blessing to the hermit elder Glycerius. At that time, there was a terrible drought in the country, and the elder said: “Child, let us kneel and pray to the Lord to send rain. In this way we will know whether our prayers are acceptable to the Lord.” The elder and the youth, kneeling down, began to pray - and immediately it began to rain. Then the elder told Saint Theodore that the grace of God rested on him, and blessed him to become a monk when the time came.

At the age of fourteen, Saint Theodore left home and lived at the church of the Great Martyr George. His mother brought him food, but Saint Theodore left everything on the stones near the church, and he himself ate only one prosphora a day. In such at a young age The Monk Theodore was awarded the gift of healing: through his prayer, the demon-possessed young man recovered.

The Monk Theodore avoided human glory and retired into complete solitude. Under big stone Not far from the Church of the Great Martyr George, he dug a cave and persuaded one deacon to fill the entrance with earth, leaving only a small hole for air. The deacon brought him bread and water and did not tell anyone where the monk had hidden.

The Monk Theodore spent two years in seclusion and complete silence. The relatives mourned the saint and thought that animals had eaten him.

But the deacon revealed the secret, because he was afraid that the Monk Theodore would die in the cramped cave, and he felt sorry for the sobbing mother. The Monk Theodore was taken out of the cave half-dead.

The mother wanted to take her son home to restore his health, but the saint remained at the Church of the Great Martyr George and after a few days he was completely healed.

The news of the young man’s exploits reached the local bishop Theodosius. In the Church of the Great Martyr George, he ordained him to the rank of deacon, and then to the priesthood, although the monk was only 17 years old.

After some time, the Monk Theodore went to worship the holy places in Jerusalem and there, in the Chozebite Lavra near Jordan, he became a monk.

When he returned to his homeland, he continued to live at the Church of the Great Martyr George. His grandmother Elpidia, sister Vlatta and mother, on the advice of the monk, retired to a monastery, and his aunt died in good confession.

The ascetic life of the young hieromonk attracted people seeking salvation to him. The monk tonsured the young man Epiphanius into monasticism, then a pious woman, healed by the saint from an illness, brought her son Philumen to him. The virtuous young man John also came. So gradually the brethren gathered around the saint.

The Monk Theodore continued to perform difficult feats. At his request, the blacksmith made for him an iron cage without a roof, so narrow that one could only stand in it. In this cage, wearing heavy chains, the monk stood from Holy Easter until the Nativity of Christ. From the Epiphany of the Lord until Holy Easter, he secluded himself in a cave, from where he came out only to perform divine services on Saturday and Sunday. During the entire Holy Pentecost, the saint ate only vegetables and spring bread on Saturdays and Sundays.

By laboring in this way, he received from the Lord power over wild animals. Bears and wolves came to him and took food from his hands. Through the prayer of the monk, lepers were healed, and demons were cast out from entire regions. When locusts appeared in the neighboring village of Magatia, destroying crops, the residents turned to the Monk Theodore with a request for help. He sent them to church. After Divine Liturgy, which was performed by the Monk Theodore, the residents returned to their place and learned that during this time all the locusts had died out.

When the governor Mauritius was returning to Constantinople after the Persian War through Galatia, the monk predicted to him that he would become emperor. The prediction came true, and Emperor Mauritius (582 - 602) fulfilled the saint’s request - he sent bread to the monastery every year for the many people who fed there.

The small church of the Great Martyr George did not accommodate everyone who wanted to pray in it. Then, through the efforts of the saint, a new one was built beautiful temple. At that time, the Bishop of Anastasiople died. The inhabitants of the city begged Metropolitan Paul of Ancyra to appoint the Monk Theodore as their bishop.

No matter how much the saint resisted, the metropolitan’s envoys and the residents of Anastasiople forcibly took him out of his cell and took him to the city.

Having become a bishop, Saint Theodore worked hard for the good of the Church. His soul sought solitary communion with God. A few years later he went to worship the holy places in Jerusalem. There, without revealing his rank, he settled in the Lavra of St. Savva, where he lived in silence from the Nativity of Christ until Easter. Then the Great Martyr George ordered him to return to Anastasiople.

Secret enemies tried to poison the saint, but Mother of God gave him three grains. The saint ate them and remained unharmed. Saint Theodore was burdened by the burden of bishopric and asked Patriarch Cyriacus of Constantinople (595 - 606) for permission to go back to his monastery and perform Divine services there.

The saint's holiness was so obvious that during his celebration of the Eucharist, the grace of the Holy Spirit in the form of light purple covered the Holy Gifts. One day, when the monk raised the paten with the Divine Lamb and proclaimed “Holy of Holies,” the Divine Lamb rose into the air and then sank back onto the paten.

All Orthodox Church revered the Monk Theodore as a saint during his lifetime.

When a terrible incident happened in one of the cities of Galatia - during a religious procession, wooden crosses began to shake and break on their own, the Patriarch of Constantinople, Saint Thomas, called the Monk Theodore to him to learn from him the secret of this terrible miracle. Endowed with the gift of insight, the Monk Theodore explained that this was a harbinger of future troubles for the Church of God (as he prophetically pointed to the future heresy of iconoclasm). The saddened Saint Patriarch Thomas asked the monk to pray for his speedy death, so as not to see him in distress.

In 610, the holy Patriarch Thomas reposed, asking for the blessing of the Monk Theodore. In 613, the Monk Theodore Sikeot also departed to the Lord.

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The Monk Theodora lived in Constantinople in the first half of the 10th century. She was married, but widowed and led a pious life, serving the poor and strangers, then she became a monk and lived under the guidance of the Venerable Basil the New (March 26). She died at an old age. The student is Saint Basil, Gregory, with a prayer began to ask the elder to open him afterlife Holy Elder Theodora. And so, for the sake of his persistent requests, through the prayer of the elder, a wonderful vision appeared to Gregory in a dream: he found himself in a holy, beautiful garden, where he met Theodora and could ask her about how she parted with her body and how she came to this holy monastery. The venerable woman answered: “How can I, dear child Gregory, tell you everything? After what I experienced in fear and trembling, I forgot a lot, especially since I saw such faces and heard such voices that I had never seen or heard in my entire life. What I can say is that I would have met a cruel death for my wrongful deeds committed on earth, if not for the prayers of our father Vasily. His prayers alone made mine easy death " After this, the Monk Theodora told how at her death she was frightened by many evil spirits that suddenly appeared. They brought large books in which the sins of her entire life were written down, and looked through them impatiently, as if expecting the arrival of some judge any minute. Seeing this, she came into such awe and horror that she was completely exhausted, and, looking around in suffering, wanted to see someone who could drive away the demons. Being in such a painful state, the saint saw two angels standing next to her, the evil spirits immediately moved away. “Why do you, gloomy enemies of the human race, confuse and torment the dying soul? Don’t rejoice, there is nothing of yours here,” said one angel. Then the shameless spirits began to remember everything that the saint had done from her youth, whether in word, deed or thought. At the same time, they added a lot of their own, trying to slander the saint. Finally death came, she poured something into a cup and brought it to the saint to drink, and then, taking a knife, cut off her head. “Oh, my child,” St. Theodora continued the story, “how bitter, bitter I felt then! At that moment, death tore out my soul, which quickly separated from the body, just as a bird quickly jumps away from the hand of a catcher if he sets it free.” The luminous angels accepted the saint’s soul and began to depart with it to Heaven, but the saint’s body remained lying on the earth, like discarded clothing. When the holy angels held the soul of the saint, the evil spirits, approaching again, said: “We have many of her sins, answer us for them.” And then the angels began to remember all the good deeds that the saint did: her mercy, love of peace, love for the temple of God, patience, humility, fasting and many other deeds that the saint endured in life. Then the venerable elder Vasily appeared and began to say to the angels: “My patrons, this soul has served me a lot, calming my weakness and old age. I prayed to the Lord for her, and He granted me this blessing.” At the same time, the Monk Basil gave the angels some kind of reliquary, adding: “When you want to bypass the ordeals of the air, redeem her by taking from this reliquary and giving it to the crafty and evil spirits.” The angels took St. Theodora and headed up to Heaven, ascending as if through the air. And then on the way we suddenly encountered the first ordeal, which is called the ordeal of Idle Talk and Profanity. The torturers demanded an answer to everything that the Monk Theodora had ever said badly; they accused her of indecent laughter, ridicule, and bad songs. The saint forgot all this, for much time had passed since she began to lead a life pleasing to God. But the angels protected her.

Above was the ordeal of Lies. The evil spirits who were there were very vile, disgusting and ferocious. They began to furiously slander the saint, but the angels gave them from the reliquary and passed them by. When the saint reached the third ordeal - Condemnation and Slander, an older one came out from the evil spirits and began to tell with what bad words the saint had slandered someone in her life. He showed a lot of things that were false, but it was surprising with what detail and accuracy the demons remembered what the saint herself had forgotten.

The servants of the fourth ordeal - Eating and Drunkenness, like predatory wolves, were ready to devour the saint, remembering how she ate in the morning without praying to God, ate before lunch and dinner and without measure, broke her fasts. Trying to snatch Theodora’s soul from the hands of the angels, one of the evil spirits said: “Didn’t you promise the Lord your God at holy baptism to renounce Satan and all his works and everything that belongs to Satan? Having made such a vow, how could you do what you did?” And the demons even counted all the cups of wine that the Monk Theodora drank throughout her life. When she said: “Yes, it happened, and I remember this,” the angels again gave a part from the reliquary of St. Basil, as they did at every ordeal, and moved on.

“Do people on earth know what awaits them here and what they will encounter after their death?” - St. Theodora asked the angels. “Yes, they know,” answered the angel, “but the pleasures and delights of life affect them so strongly, absorb their attention so much that they involuntarily forget about what awaits them beyond the grave. Good for those who remember Holy Bible and give alms or do some other good deeds that can subsequently redeem them from the eternal torment of hell. But woe to those who live carelessly, as if immortal, thinking only about the blessings of the belly and pride. If death suddenly befalls them, it will completely destroy them, since they will not have any good deeds to defend themselves; The dark princes of these ordeals, having greatly tormented the souls of those people, will take them to the dark places of hell and will hold them until the coming of Christ. So you, Theodora, would have suffered if you had not received the gifts from the saint of God Vasily, which saved you here from everything bad.” In such a conversation, they reached the fifth ordeal - Laziness, where sinners are tortured for all the days and hours spent in idleness. The parasites who are lazy in the holidays go to the temple of God. There, despondency and negligence of both worldly and spiritual people are examined and everyone’s negligence about his soul is examined. Many from there fall into the abyss. The angels made up for the shortcomings of the saint with the gifts of St. Vasily and went further.

The sixth ordeal - Theft - they passed freely. Also, the seventh ordeal - Love of Money and Stinginess - the angels passed without delay, because, by the grace of God, the saint was always content with what God gave, and diligently distributed what she had to those in need.

The spirits of the eighth ordeal—the extortionists, tormenting bribery and flattery—gnashed their teeth in anger when the angels passed from them, for they had nothing against the saint.

The ninth ordeal - Untruth and Vanity, the tenth - Envy, and the eleventh - Pride - the angels passed freely.

Soon on the way we encountered the twelfth ordeal - Wrath. The eldest of the spirits, filled with anger and pride, ordered the servants to torment and torture the saint. The demons repeated all the true words of the saint, spoken by her in anger, and even recalled how she looked at her children with anger or severely punished them. The angels responded to all this by giving from the ark.

Like robbers, the evil spirits of the thirteenth ordeal, Grudge, jumped up, but, finding nothing in their notes, they wept bitterly. Then the saint dared to ask one of the angels how the evil spirits knew who and what had done bad things in life. The angel answered: “Every Christian at holy baptism receives a guardian angel who invisibly protects him from everything bad and instructs him in everything good, who records all the good deeds done by this person. On the other hand, the evil angel monitors the evil deeds of people throughout his life and writes them down in his book. He writes down all the sins in which, as you have seen, people are tested, going through ordeals and heading to Heaven. These sins can prevent a soul from entering heaven and lead straight into the abyss, in which evil spirits themselves live. And there these souls will live until the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, if they do not have good deeds behind them that could snatch them from the hands of the devil. People who believe in Holy Trinity Those who partake of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ the Savior as often as possible directly ascend to Heaven without any obstacles. And the holy angels of God are protectors, and the holy saints of God pray for the salvation of the souls of people who lived righteously. No one cares about the wicked and evil heretics who do nothing useful in their lives, and the angels cannot say anything in their defense.”

In the fourteenth ordeal - Robbery, which the angels reached, everyone was tested who pushed someone with anger, hit them on the cheeks or with any weapon. And the angels passed through this ordeal freely. Suddenly they found themselves in the fifteenth ordeal - Sorcery, charm (witchcraft), poisoning, summoning demons. There were serpentine spirits here, the purpose of whose existence was to lead people into temptation and debauchery. By the grace of Christ, the saint soon passed this ordeal. After that, she asked whether for every sin that a person commits in life, he is tortured in ordeals, or is it possible to atone for the sin during his lifetime in order to be cleansed of it and not suffer during ordeals. The angels answered the Monk Theodora that not everyone is tested in such detail at the ordeal, but only those who, like her, did not confess sincerely before death. “If I had confessed to my spiritual father without any shame or fear everything sinful and received forgiveness,” said the Monk Theodora, “then I would have gone through all these ordeals without hindrance and I would not have had to be tortured for a single sin. But just as I didn’t want to sincerely confess my sins to my father, here they torture me for it. Of course, it helped me a lot that throughout my life I tried and wanted to avoid sin. Anyone who diligently strives for repentance always receives forgiveness from God, and through this a free transition from this life to a blissful afterlife. Evil spirits who are in ordeals along with their scriptures, having opened them, do not find anything written, for the Holy Spirit makes everything written invisible. And they see this and know that everything they wrote down has been erased thanks to confession, and then they grieve very much. If the person still lives, then they try to write down some other sins in this place. Great indeed is the salvation of a person in confession! She saves him from many troubles and misfortunes, gives him the opportunity to go through all the ordeals without hindrance and get closer to God. Others do not confess, hoping that there will still be time for salvation and forgiveness of sins. Others are simply ashamed to tell their confessor their sins in confession - these are the people who will be tested strictly in the ordeals. There are also those who are ashamed to tell one spiritual father everyone, but they choose several and reveal some sins to one, others to another, and so on. For such a confession they will be punished and will suffer a lot during the transition from ordeal to ordeal.”

The sixteenth ordeal—Fornication—imperceptibly approached. The torturers were amazed that the saint reached them without hindrance and, when they began to say what she had done in life, they gave many false testimonies, citing names and places in support. The servants of the seventeenth ordeal - Adultery - did the same.

The eighteenth ordeal is Sodom, where all unnatural things are tortured prodigal sins and incest, all the most disgusting, secretly committed deeds, which, according to the word of the Apostle, are ashamed to even talk about, the Monk Theodora soon passed away. When they rose higher, the angels said to her: “You have seen the terrible and disgusting ordeals of fornication. Know that a rare soul passes them freely. The whole world is immersed in the evil of temptations and defilements, almost all people are voluptuous, the thoughts of the human heart are evil from his youth (Gen. 8:21). There are few who mortify carnal lusts and few who freely pass by these ordeals. Most of Having reached here, he dies. The authorities of the prodigal ordeals boast that they alone, more than all other ordeals, fill the fiery kinship in hell. Thank God, Theodora, that you passed these prodigal torturers through the prayers of your father. You will no longer see fear."

At the nineteenth ordeal - Idolatry and all heresy - the saint was not tested in anything. In the last, twentieth ordeal - Unmercy and Cruelty - all the unmerciful, cruel, harsh and hateful were written down. The soul of a person who did not follow God’s commandment of mercy is thrown from here into hell and locked up until the general resurrection. The servants of the cruel demon flew up like annoying bees, but, not finding anything in the saint, they moved away. Joyful angels led the saint through the gates of Heaven. When they entered the sky, the water that was above the earth parted and behind them united again. A rejoicing host of angels met the saint and led her to the Throne of God. As they walked, two Divine clouds descended on them. At an inexplicable height stood the Throne of God, so white that it illuminated everyone who stood before it. “Everything there is such that it is impossible to understand or explain; the mind is clouded with bewilderment, and the memory disappears, and I forgot where I am,” said the Monk Theodora. She bowed to the Invisible God and heard a voice commanding her to show her all the souls of the righteous and sinners and then give her peace.

After the story, Theodora led Gregory around the Heavenly monastery, led him into the palace, into the garden, where he, amazed by the blessings, wanted to find out more about them, but the monk only said that all this is unearthly and goes to those who endure many sorrows and misfortunes in earthly life who guards the commandments of the Lord and fulfills them exactly. So, having bowed to the saint, Gregory returned home and at that time woke up and began to reflect on what he had seen. Fearing whether this was a demonic obsession, he hurried to the teacher, St. Basil, but he, having warned him, himself told everything that Gregory saw and asked him to write down what he saw and heard for the benefit of his neighbors. We think that every repentant Christian will find great benefit for himself in this story, will think with fear about what awaits him after his repose, and will want, while there is time, to soberly reassess his life, his actions, words, thoughts, and quickly confess everything sinful without concealment, rejecting indecision.

The Monk Theodora of Alexandria and her husband lived in Alexandria. Love and harmony reigned in their family, and this was hateful to the enemy of salvation. Prompted by the devil, one rich man was seduced by the beauty of young Theodora and began in every way to persuade her to commit adultery, but for a long time was not successful. Then he bribed a female procurer, who misled the gullible Theodora, saying that God does not blame a sin committed at night. Theodora cheated on her husband, but soon came to her senses and, realizing the heinousness of the fall, began to hate herself, mercilessly hitting herself in the face and tearing out the hair on her head. Her conscience did not give her peace, and Theodora went to her friend the abbess and told about the crime she had committed. The abbess, seeing the despair of the young woman, aroused in her faith in Divine forgiveness and reminded her of the Gospel parable about the sinner who washed the feet of Christ with her tears and received forgiveness of her sins from Him. In the hope of God’s mercy, Theodora said: “I believe in my God and from now on I will not commit such a sin, and I will try to make amends for what I have done.” At that very moment, the Monk Theodora decided to go to a monastery in order to purify herself through ascetic deeds and prayer. She secretly left the family and, dressed in men's clothing, went to monastery, because she was afraid that her husband would find her in convent. The abbot of the monastery did not even bless to let her into the courtyard, testing the firmness of the stranger. The Monk Theodora stayed overnight at the gate. In the morning, falling at the feet of the abbot, she called herself Theodore of Alexandria and asked to be left in the monastery for repentance and monastic deeds. Seeing the newcomer’s sincere intention, the abbot agreed.

Even experienced monks were amazed at the all-night kneeling prayers, humility, patience and selflessness of Theodore. The saint labored in the monastery for eight years. Her body, once defiled by adultery, became a visible vessel of God's grace and a receptacle for the Holy Spirit. One day the saint was sent to Alexandria to buy bread. Blessing her on the way, the abbot ordered, in case of delay on the way, to stop at the neighboring Enat monastery. At that time, the daughter of the abbot lived in the hotel of the Enat Monastery, who came to visit her father. Seduced by the beauty of the young monk, she began to persuade the Monk Theodora to the sin of fornication, not knowing that in front of her was a woman. Hearing the refusal, she committed a sin with another guest and conceived. The venerable woman, having bought bread, returned to her monastery.

After some time, the father of the shameless girl, noticing crime committed, began to ask his daughter who seduced her. The girl pointed to Theodore the monk. The father immediately informed the abbot of the monastery in which the Monk Theodora labored. The abbot called Theodore and told him about the accusation. The monk firmly answered: “God is my witness, I didn’t do it,” and the abbot, knowing the purity and holiness of Theodore’s life, did not believe the slander. When the fornicator gave birth, the Jenat monks brought the baby to the monastery where the ascetic lived and began to reproach the monks for their unclean life. This time the abbot believed the slander and was angry with the innocent Theodore. The baby was handed over to the saint and she was kicked out of the monastery with dishonor. Theodora humbly submitted to the new test, seeing in it redemption for her previous sin. She settled with her child in a hut not far from the monastery. Out of pity, the shepherds gave milk for the baby, and the saint herself ate only wild herbs. For seven years, enduring hardships, the holy ascetic was in exile. Finally, at the request of the monks, the abbot allowed her to return to the monastery with the baby, where she lived in seclusion for two years, teaching the child the fear of God. The abbot of the monastery received a revelation from God that the sin of the monk Theodore was forgiven. The grace of God rested on the monk Theodora, and soon all the monks witnessed the sign accomplished by the prayers of the ascetic. One day, during a drought, all the water sources in that area dried up. The abbot told the brethren that only Theodore could avert disaster. Calling the saint, the abbot ordered her to bring water from a dry well. With the blessing of the abbot, the Monk Theodora brought water, after which the water in the well no longer dried up. The humble Theodora said that the miracle happened through the prayer and faith of their abbot.

Before her death, the Monk Theodora shut herself up in a cell with the youth and bequeathed to him to love God, obey the abbot and brethren, remain silent, be kind and meek, avoid foul language and idle talk, love non-covetousness, and remember their wandering life. After standing up for prayer, she last time asked the Lord for forgiveness of sins. The boy also prayed with her. Soon the words of prayer froze on the lips of the ascetic, and she calmly departed to the Upper World (+ c. 474 - 491).

The Lord revealed to the abbot about the spiritual perfection of the monk Theodore and his innermost secret. The abbot, in order to remove the slander from the deceased, in the presence of the abbot and the brethren of the Jenat monastery, spoke about the vision and, for confirmation, opened the saint’s chest. The Enat abbot and the brethren shuddered with horror for their great sin and, falling to the holy body, with tears asked for forgiveness from the Monk Theodora. The news of the holy ascetic reached the husband of the Venerable Theodora. He took monastic vows in the monastery where his wife was being saved. The youth, raised by the saint, also followed in the footsteps of his adoptive mother. Subsequently he became the abbot of this monastery.