Righteous Theodora of Thessalonica

St. Theodora of Thessalonica was born around 812 on the island of Aegina to the devout couple Anthony and Chrysanthe. When Saracen raiders attacked the island in 823, the family fled to Thessalonica. Theodora married and bore a daughter, Theopiste, but was soon widowed. She placed her daughter in the convent of St. Stephen and later took monastic vows there herself. Through fasting, prayer, and obedience she received the gift of wonderworking, performing miracles both in life and after death. She reposed on August 29, 892. Fragrant myrrh flowed from her relics, healing many of the sick, and pilgrims flocked to venerate her reliquary in the Palaiologan era. Her Life, written by her son-in-law the deacon Gregory, is among the longest Byzantine hagiographies of a holy woman. Her relics still rest in the Thessaloniki convent bearing her name. The Church commemorates her on April 5/18.