Theodore of Tarsus


Theodore of Tarsus
Archbishop of Canterbury
Stained glass depiction of Theodore at St John the Evangelist Church, Liverpool
Term ended19 September 690
PredecessorWighard
SuccessorBerhtwald
Orders
Consecration26 March 668
Personal details
Born602
Died19 September 690
BuriedCanterbury
Sainthood
Feast day19 September[1]
Venerated in
CanonizedPre-Congregation

Theodore of Tarsus (Greek: Θεόδωρος Ταρσοῦ; 602 – 19 September 690)[1] was Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690. Theodore grew up in Tarsus, but fled to Constantinople after the Persian Empire conquered Tarsus and other cities. After studying there, he relocated to Rome and was later installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury on the orders of Pope Vitalian. Accounts of his life appear in two 8th-century texts. Theodore is best known for his reform of the English Church and establishment of a school in Canterbury.[2]

  1. ^ a b Farmer 2004, pp. 496–497
  2. ^ Keynes, Simon (2023), Kumarasingham, H.; Cane, Peter (eds.), "The Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England (450–1066)", The Cambridge Constitutional History of the United Kingdom: Volume 2: The Changing Constitution, vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, pp. 6–8, doi:10.1017/9781009277105.002, ISBN 978-1-009-27710-5