Saint Theodore the Confessor and his brother Theophanes were born in Jerusalem to Christian parents. From early childhood, Theodore avoided childish amusements and loved attending church services. Both brothers were sent for education to a presbyter in the Lavra of Saint Savva and took monastic vows; Saint Theodore was elevated to the rank of presbyter.
When the iconoclast Emperor Leo V the Armenian began to patronize the iconoclast heresy, the Patriarch of Jerusalem sent the brothers to Constantinople to defend Orthodoxy. The Byzantine saints and confessors boldly spoke in defense of the veneration of icons and were subjected to cruel tortures, after which they were exiled to confinement.
Under the subsequent emperors, Michael II and Theophilus, the brothers again faced torture, but they steadfastly endured all the sufferings. They were subjected to brutal beatings and tortures, including the application of shameful inscriptions on their faces with heated needles. Saint Theodore refused the offer of freedom if he would participate in the iconoclast heresy.
Saint Theodore passed away around the year 840 in the locality of Apamea, while Saint Theophanes lived until the end of the iconoclast heresy and died in the rank of Bishop of Nicaea. Blessed Theophanes was the author of many writings in defense of Orthodoxy. The relics of the holy martyr Theodore were transferred to Chalcedon, where healings occurred.
