St. Theodosius
(423-529)
"...the Cenobiarch" came from Cappadocia who watched over the
church of the Virgin Mary
between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. He founded a big monastery in the desert
of Juda. So many monks came to live there that he divided them into groups
according to nationality: Greeks, Armenians, Arabs etc. Every group got
their own church.
He got his title "Cenobiarch" since he became responsible for
the cenobitical societies in Palestine. A cenobitical community is where
the monks live together and are in touch with the outside world. The "opposite"
is the community of hermits.
When the emperor of Byzantium tried to bribe him to support monophyticism
he refused. Despite this, he lived until an extremely old age, about 104.
Orthodox nameday: 11/1
