Martyr
New Martyr Theodore of Byzantium (Mytilene)
1774 — 1795
Also known as: Феодор Митиленский
New Martyr Theodore of Byzantium — a Greek who temporarily converted to Islam under pressure of circumstance, later repented, and voluntarily accepted execution on the island of Lesbos in 1795 in atonement for his apostasy.
IMPORTANT NOTE: this saint is not part of the standard calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church — his veneration is a local Greek tradition; furthermore, the identification is supported by only one source found, without the possibility of cross-verification, hence verification_status=uncertain.
New Martyr Theodore was born in 1774 near Constantinople and in his youth was apprenticed to a Christian craftsman at the Sultan's court. Under worldly pressure he temporarily converted to Islam, but after surviving a plague epidemic he repented of his apostasy and fled to the island of Chios.
Seeking to atone for his sin, he deliberately sought martyrdom: on the first Thursday of Great Lent 1795, on the island of Lesbos, he openly confessed Christ before a judge. Subjected to torture (his temples crushed between bricks, his teeth knocked out), he was executed by hanging. He is venerated as patron of the island of Lesbos.
His feast is kept on February 17/March 2.