Of the life of Theodorus, we know that he lived and died in the 300s, and has been included on the list of blessed Christian martyrs since that time. Beyond this, we have little reliable detail about what, where, or how Theodorus spent his life.

But we do have tremendous details regarding Theodorus’s bones, tomb, and eternal spirit. For centuries, supplicants would ask Theodorus for his intercession with God (so that God would see to it that what they wanted came about). The specific prayer offered to St. Theodorus was quite, umm, flexible:

“As a soldier, defend us; as a martyr, speak for us–ask peace: if we want (i.e., are in need of) a stronger intercession, gather together your brother martyrs, and with them all pray for us. Stir up Peter, Paul, and John, that they be solicitous for the Churches which they founded.”

So…Theodorus–be militaristic, be pacifistic, and if you can’t get the job done by yourself, get the big guns (so to speak) to join you in helping us! According to Butler:

[B]y his (Theodorus’s) intercession, devils were expelled, and distempers cured: that many . . . approached the tomb, being persuaded that the touch thereof imparted a blessing; that they carried the dust of the sepulchre, as a treasure of great value, and if any were allowed the happiness to touch the sacred relics (the bones), they respectfully applied them to their eyes, mouth, ears, and other organs of their senses.

All this can seem like superstition, magical thinking, or even just plain icky (rubbing an old toe bone over one’s eyelids? or a rib over ones lips?). But consider the base assumptions operative in venerating a saint and seeking her or his favors and assistance. First, there is an actuated belief in what is theologically and doctrinally called “the communion of saints.” That is, a belief that death does not in fact render the dead saint “lifeless” nor does death sever active community membership. By this, Theodorus continues to live purposefully, and can be in contact with those alive-in-the-flesh humans and with those other saints who have died and with whom the saint shares an eternal dwelling.

To wit: I can talk to my living brother; I can talk to my dead-but-in-God’s-presence grandmothers; they can speak to one another, as well as to Theodorus whom they never met while on earth; Either I or my brother can speak to Theodorus as well.  Theodorus can speak both to those living as (Christian?) humans and to SS. Peter and Paul and John and Mary–that all Christians, past and present, possess the power to communicate…to commune sigh another. So why not go ahead and access this amazing roster of heavy-hitters who are “already on God’s good side” to help?!