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| St. Theodore of Halicarnassus (Feast Day - September 4) |
Saint Theodore was martyred for Christ in Halicarnassus, also known as Petroumi of Asia Minor, around the year 1800 at the age of about 30.
The Saint was arrested by the impious Ottomans and imprisoned in the Dungeon of Halicarnassus. During this period of his stay in prison, he was supported by Hierodeacon Joachim Askandalos (+ 1839), a pious and learned man and a monk of the Sacred Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Patmos.
He was martyred in a horrible way, as can be seen from the beatings on his Honorable Skull and the rest of his Sacred Relics.
The Sacred Relics of the New Martyr of our Orthodox Faith were transferred to the Sacred Monastery of Patmos by the Patmian captain Nikolaos Pasvantis. This captain often passed with his ship near the coast of Halicarnassus and saw a bright light at a specific point; it was the point where Saint Theodore had been buried. With the help of the Patmian Metropolitan of Laodicea, Gregory Xenos (+ 1812), as the historian Gerasimos Smyrnakis reports in his unpublished work, Nikolaos Pasvantis transferred the Sacred Relics to the Sacred Royal, Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and Evangelist in Patmos, where they are kept to this day.
The Saint was arrested by the impious Ottomans and imprisoned in the Dungeon of Halicarnassus. During this period of his stay in prison, he was supported by Hierodeacon Joachim Askandalos (+ 1839), a pious and learned man and a monk of the Sacred Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Patmos.
He was martyred in a horrible way, as can be seen from the beatings on his Honorable Skull and the rest of his Sacred Relics.
The Sacred Relics of the New Martyr of our Orthodox Faith were transferred to the Sacred Monastery of Patmos by the Patmian captain Nikolaos Pasvantis. This captain often passed with his ship near the coast of Halicarnassus and saw a bright light at a specific point; it was the point where Saint Theodore had been buried. With the help of the Patmian Metropolitan of Laodicea, Gregory Xenos (+ 1812), as the historian Gerasimos Smyrnakis reports in his unpublished work, Nikolaos Pasvantis transferred the Sacred Relics to the Sacred Royal, Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and Evangelist in Patmos, where they are kept to this day.
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After two centuries, the grace of the Lord allowed the New Martyr and the City of New Halicarnassus in Crete to become known, as well as the fact that his Sacred Relics are kept in the aforementioned historic Sacred Monastery. In July 2008 the Abbot of the Monastery in Patmos, Archimandrite Antipas, gave a suitable portion of the Sacred Relics to New Halicarnassus in Crete to provide sanctification to the faithful and awaken the rich Orthodox tradition of Old Halicarnassus.
For the occasion of the transfer of the Sacred Relics to Crete, Metropolitan Kyrillos of Rhodes composed a Divine Office to celebrate the Holy New Martyr, which was published in the “Patmian Leimonarion” in 2007.
During the same period, the right aisle of the chapel of the Parish of Saint Nicholas in New Halicarnassus was completed, in honor of the Holy New Martyr Theodore, where the Saint is celebrated on his feast day on September 4th. After the evening Divine Liturgy is celebrated, according to the Asia Minor tradition, food is distributed to the faithful, the so-called "Qurbani" (meat with wheat), in honor and memory of the Saint.
For the occasion of the transfer of the Sacred Relics to Crete, Metropolitan Kyrillos of Rhodes composed a Divine Office to celebrate the Holy New Martyr, which was published in the “Patmian Leimonarion” in 2007.
During the same period, the right aisle of the chapel of the Parish of Saint Nicholas in New Halicarnassus was completed, in honor of the Holy New Martyr Theodore, where the Saint is celebrated on his feast day on September 4th. After the evening Divine Liturgy is celebrated, according to the Asia Minor tradition, food is distributed to the faithful, the so-called "Qurbani" (meat with wheat), in honor and memory of the Saint.
