St. Horsiesios’ successor St. Theodore, was a person of outstanding achievements that won him the admiration of his contemporaries.
He was born into a prominent family.
When he was twelve he gave himself up to great abstinence eating no other food than that which is customary for monks to take; he used to fast until evening every day, and at times, only ate every second day.
At the age of fourteen, he left his home and city and went to a monastery and led the anchoritic life with some pious old monks.
He remained there for six years, and then at the age of twenty he went north with Abba Pecos to St. Pachomius.
He succeeded in settling the revolt which threatened to ruin the Pachomian organization.
Several new monasteries were founded by him.
He died after having ruled for eighteen years. On that occasion St. Athanasius addressed a letter to Horsiesios begging him to reassume full leadership. It testifies to the high esteem which St. Theodore enjoyed.
What he wrote
St. Evagrius of Pontus wrote of St. Theodore: One of the monks asked St. Theodore, “Holy father, why do I get angry as soon as a harsh word is spoken to me?” He replied, “The man ofGod may be thought of as a vine. When someonepicks its fruit and presses it, it yields nothing butsweet wine. That is, if one of the faithful is seizedby a thought, he produces only the sweetness ofthe word of God written in the scriptures.Acarnal and angry man, on the other hand,produces only bitterness and words which areunprofitable for the faithful men who submitpatiently to everything which comes upon themfrom God.” St. Theodore wrote: “We know then for certainthat His Spirit will dwell in us and will give uspower.Let us not become discouraged, neitherlet us think that any human image will provide uswith consolation…only God’s bounty endures…Let us therefore, lean upon the Lord.”