Theodore the Martyr
Christian saint
Theodore the Martyr refers to the two saints Theodore of Amasea (Theodore the Recruit) and Theodore Stratelates (Theodore the General), two important military saints of the Byzantine period.
The two saints are likely identical in origin, the veneration of Theodore of Amasea is ascertained for the late 4th century, while the tradition of Theodore Stratelates develops from that of Theodore of Amasea by the 9th century.
There is a Coptic Life of Theodore the General, which places his martyrdom in Egypt. In Coptic tradition, the saint is also known as Saint Theodore of Shwtp.
There are other martyrs called Theodore, see Theodore and Pausilippus (2nd c.), Theodore, Philippa and companions (3rd c.), Teodor Komogovinski (1788).
Accounts
According to the Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church, Saint Theodore the Martyr was a captain of the soldiers of the city of Setb, in the province of Asyut in Upper Egypt. A church was dedicated to him, and great signs and wonders took place through his body.
Abu al-Makarim, writing in 1348, says there was a church named after him in Babylon, Egypt.
Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c.
“Theodore the Martyr” enters the record as christian saint. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Theodore, Martyr and Christian can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Theodore the Martyr” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Theodore, Martyr and Christian provides the most credible route into that argument.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17052858. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1788 and 1348.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Theodore the Martyr”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Theodore the Martyr primary sources, Theodore the Martyr archive and Theodore research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Theodore the Martyr”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Theodore the Martyr” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.