Theodore of Studium

759-826. Byzantine abbot. Born in Constantinople, he became monk (787) and abbot (794) of Saccudion monastery in Bithynia. Having opposed Constantine VI's adulterous second marriage, he was briefly exiled. In 797 the community at Saccudion, vulnerable to Muslim attack, transferred to Studius in Constantinople, which became a center of monastic reform. After another two-year exile because of differences with Patriarch Nicephorus*, Theodore was again in disputation when in 814 the Iconoclastic Controversy* was revived, and he led the opposition to the Iconoclasts. Exiled again, he was subsequently allowed to return, but barred from reassuming his post as abbot. Theodore stoutly maintained the church's independence of the state, did not hesitate to protest when he saw compromise in his patriarchs, and even appealed to the popes of Rome. Apart from his defense of image worship he is known for his adaptation of the Rules of St. Basil which became the norm in the Eastern Church. The author of many works, he left much of particular historical value in nearly 600 letters.