Empress and Iconophile
Theodora came from an aristocratic family of Paphlagonia, in Asia Minor, and was chosen as the bride of the emperor Theophilos, whom she married in 830. They had seven children, including a son Constantine who died as an infant, the future emperor Michael III, and several daughters. Theophilos was a committed iconoclast, and his reign continued the imperial campaign against the veneration of icons.
By the accounts of her life, Theodora secretly held to the veneration of the icons throughout her husband's reign. She is credited with persuading him to release the imprisoned iconophile painter Lazarus, and with quietly teaching the veneration of icons within the imperial household. When Theophilos died in 842, leaving a young son, Theodora became regent of the empire.
The Restoration of the Icons
As regent, Theodora moved to end the iconoclasm of her late husband. In March 843 the iconoclast patriarch John the Grammarian was deposed and replaced by the confessor Methodius, who had spent years in prison for his defense of the icons. A local council at Constantinople then restored the veneration of the holy images.
The restoration was solemnized by a great procession bearing the icons through the city on the first Sunday of Great Lent, 11 March 843. This event, known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy, has been commemorated ever since in the Orthodox Church on the first Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It marked the close of the second period of iconoclasm, which had begun under the emperor Leo V some decades earlier.
Later Life and Veneration
Theodora continued to govern as regent, managing the finances of the empire and its defense, until her son Michael III came of age. With his uncle Bardas, Michael removed her from power; her advisor Theoktistos was killed, and Theodora withdrew to a convent, where she gave herself to ascetic life. She reposed in peace about the year 867.
She is venerated as a righteous saint of the Orthodox Church for her part in the restoration of the icons, her principal commemoration falling on February 11, and her memory is bound up with the Sunday of Orthodoxy. By later tradition her relics were brought to the island of Corfu, where they are honored.
