St. Theodore the Recruit

Theodore Tyron was a new recruit in the Roman army at Amasea who set fire to a temple of the mother goddess and was burned alive for it. Fifty years later, the emperor Julian the Apostate had the food in the markets of Constantinople sprinkled with blood from idol sacrifices at the start of Lent. St. Theodore appeared to the archbishop and told the people to eat boiled wheat instead. That is why kollyva is blessed in his memory on the first Saturday of Lent.

• Feast: February 17 (New Calendar)
• Lived: died c. 306
• Place: Amasea, Pontus