Theodora the Empress
Widow of the iconoclast emperor Theophilus and regent for her young son Michael III. With the patriarch Methodios she restored the veneration of icons at Constantinople, and the Synodikon of Orthodoxy acclaims her with her son.
When Theophilus died, Theodora governed for their small son together with the eunuch Theoktistos, her brother Bardas and her uncle Manuel. The history compiled a century later at the Byzantine court makes her say that she had always wished to restore the images and had been held back by the strength of the other party (Theophanes Continuatus 4.1–2). The same history says that she made the pardon of her dead husband a condition, and swore that he had repented and kissed the icons before he died (Theophanes Continuatus 4.4–6).
The Synodikon gives eternal memory to the emperor Michael and to Theodora, his mother (Synodikon of Orthodoxy, acclamations). See the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
In the timeline
- 11 March AD 843, estimated dateThe Triumph of Orthodoxy
After the death of the iconoclast emperor Theophilus, his widow Theodora and the new patriarch Methodios restore the veneration of icons at Constantinople. The day is kept each year on the first Sunday of Lent.