The story of Theodora is also very much the story of Eustratius Proculus. During a time of persecution of Christians in the early 300s, Theodora refused to sacrifice to the Emperor, remained true to her faith, and suffered death (and there is a very fascinating story of how she and Didymus dressed up as each other so that she might not have her chastity violated en route to her execution–they both ended up dead, but at least the beheaded Theodora wasn’t raped as well).

So back to Eustratius Proculus. He was the Roman prefect who eventually made the decision to carry out the execution of Theodora, despite his internal reluctance to do so. He did everything he could to cajole Theodora: Eustratius offered Theodora ways that she could perform a sacrifice and preserve her life while not having to verbally renounce Christianity; he gave her additional time; he chose not to use torture (at first) to persuade Theodora; he even made her accommodations (relatively) comfortable. Yet, as Butler relates, Eustratius ended up blaming Theodora for forcing him to have to carry out the Emperor’s edict! “You compel me, notwithstanding your quality,” said Eustratius to Theodora, “to affront you before all the people.” Finally, Eustratius declared, “I am out of patience; I will execute the edict. I should myself be guilty of disobeying the emperors, were I to dally any longer.”

Note: Eustratius paints himself as powerless in this situation–as though the Emperor and Theodora had together conspired to put him into an impossible position. He also sees himself as executing an edict, rather than a human being. That is, in his own view, Eustratius was a victim, forced to carry out orders.

Eustratius thoroughly eschewed any moral agency whatsoever for his actions. He had a job to do. He had responsibilities. He believed himself to be a good guy, really and truly. He was reasonable. He was patient. He…was a forerunner of Adolf Eichmann–who was proud of the fact that his efficiency regarding the trains was a means of showing kindness to Jews being transported to concentration camps–a model civil servant who, like Eustratius, did not want to be “guilty of disobeying.”

It is a great temptation to paint ourselves as victims when we are given authority and are subsequently required to face ethical dilemmas in the exercise of that authority. We either want to act as though we have no real power, or that we are not actually making choices but instead carrying out inescapable duties.

In the end, it was Theodora and not Eustratius who actually recognized that she had power over her own choices. Theodora, rather than Eustratius, exercised moral agency in making choices when faced with an ethical dilemma (in her case, the choice to sacrifice to the Emperor in denial of her religious faith or to be killed). It was Theodora who did not see herself as a victim. And, in the end, Theodora is the saint we celebrate 1700 years later.