Saint Theodora, the farthest of Romania's holy ascetics, was untrained in the suburb of Vanatori, Neamts in the basic lacking of the seventeenth century, and was the son of Stephen Joldea and his partner.
She was married to a man of Ismail, but had no children. Suitably, she and her partner momentous to key in the monastic life. Her partner went to the Skete of Poiana Marului, someplace he was tonsured with the name Eleutherius. He was anyway bound to the holy priesthood.
Theodora anyway established the monastic tonsure in the Skete of Poiana Marului. In upright a few living, she advanced in meekness, prayer, and severity, acquiring the sensitivity of devoted prayer of the nature.
Past her skete was conked out by the Turks, she fled to the Buzau Mountains with her spiritual mother, Schemanun Paisia. They lived for dependable living in fasting, vigil and prayer, dense unsympathetic, gluttony, and demonic temptations. Past her spiritual mother even out out cold in the Lady (1670-1675), St Theodora was led by God to the mountains of Neamts. Just the once venerating the wonderworking Neamts Icon of the Father of God (June 26) in the monastery, she was told to beg the blessing of Hieromonk Barsanuphius of Sihastria Skete. Seeing her swanky for the eremetical life, and recognizing her extreme intrinsic worth, he gave her Heavenly Communion and assigned Hieromonk Paul as her Depart Confessor and spiritual guide.
Fr Barsanuphius advised Theodora to go and endure independently in the rough country for a day. "If, by the sensitivity of Christ, you are ingenious to tolerate the difficulties and trials of the rough country, hence perjure yourself current until you die. If you cannot tolerate, up till now, hence go to a women's monastery, and rush current in humility for the recovery of your principal."
Fr Paul searched in deadened for an stuck hermitage someplace St Theodora dominance endure. Then they met an old hermit living less the cliffs of Sihla. This soothsayer Massive greeted them and assumed, "Father Theodora, perjure yourself in my crack, for I am moving to unlike place."
Fr Paul gone Theodora on Steed Sihla, blessing her previous he returned to the skete. St Theodora lived in that crack for thirty living. Strengthened with power from on high, she whitewashed all the attacks of the Critic open forbearance and humility. She never gone the roadblock, and never saw unlike particular recover for Fr Paul, who visited her from time to time to bring her the Above reproach Mysteries of Christ and the supplies she obligatory to breathe.
St Theodora prepared such proceed in severity that she was ingenious to hold vigil all night crave with her arms lifted up in the direction of illusion. Past the hours of daylight sun touched her example, she would eat some herbs and other vegetation to break her fast. She drank rain which she calm from a department store cut in vogue the bluff, which is regular distinct as St Theodora's Duty-bound.
Past Turks attacked the villages and monasteries in relation to Neamts, the reforest became jam-packed with villagers and monastics. Several nuns found St Theodora's crack, and she called out to them, "Stay near in my crack, for I clutch unlike place of draw back." Then she encouraged in vogue a neighboring pit, living current suitably independently. An navy of Turks naked the pit, and were about to fire the saint. Thrilling up her hands, she cried out, "O Lady, make amends for me from the hands of these murderers." The wall of the pit opened, and she was ingenious to escape in vogue the reforest.
As St Theodora grew old, she was history and current was no one to willingness for her. Placing all her encouragement in God, she continued her spiritual struggles, and reached extreme heights of purity. Past she prayed her mind was raised up to Paradise, and her assume was lifted up off the ground. In the same way as the extreme saints of backside time, her example shone with a shimmering light, and a incandesce came forth from her jaw each time she prayed.
In time her clothes became mere rags, and each time her harvest ran out, she was fed by plants congruence the Soothsayer Elias (July 20). They brought her crusts of bucks from the Sihastria Skete. Seeing the plants come to the skete and hence fly away with pieces of bucks in their beaks, the igumen sent two monks to abide by them. Sad even out as they walked in the direction of Sihla, and they lost their way in the reforest. They momentous to view for be born, and began to pray. In a flash, they saw a passable light stretching up in vogue the sky, and went to weigh up. As they approached, they saw a human being gleaming with light and levitating excellent the ground as she prayed.
St Theodora assumed, "Brethren, do not be uneasy, for I am a shroud handmaiden of Christ. Administrate me everything to wear, for I am bare."
Then she told them of her life and in this area death. She asked them to go to the skete and ask for Fr Anthony and the hierodeacon Laurence to come and bring her Communion. They asked her how they may possibly find their way to the skete at night, for they did not know the way. She assumed that they would be guided to the skete by a light which would go previous them.
The next day at dawn, Fr Anthony went to Sihla with the deacon and two other monks. Past they found St Theodora, she was praying by a fir tree in vanguard of her pit. She confessed to the priest, hence established the Heavenly Mysteries of Christ and gave her principal to God. The monks unspoken her in her pit with extreme glorification sometime in the sphere of the basic decade of the eighteenth century.
Rumor of her death scatter rapidly, and clan came from all elder to celebrate her earnest. Her holy remnants remained incorrupt, and many miracles took place previous them. Several kissed the remnants, others touched the reliquary, to the same extent others washed in her fountain. All who entreated St Theodora's intervention established healing and comfort.
St Theodore's elderly partner, Hieromonk Eleutherius, heard that she had been living at Sihla, and momentous to go current. He found her pit afterward in the past her death and money. Grieving for his preferred partner, Eleutherius did not return to his monastery, but prepared a not very crack for himself underside the cliffs of Sihla. He remained troublesome to her pit, fasting, praying, and present the Envisage Liturgy. He lived current for about ten living previous his blessed poise. He was unspoken in the hermits' burial ground, and the Skete of St John the Baptist was built elder his grave.
St Theodora's remnants were unavailable to the Kiev Caves Monastery surrounded by 1828 and 1834. Display she is distinct as St Theodora of the Carpathians.
St Theodora was legitimately puffed up by the Priestly in 1992.
In a good way
TROPARUL SFINTEI CUVIOASE TEODORA DE LA SIHLA (GLAS 1)Cele pam^antesti parasind si jugul pustniciei lu^and, te-ai facut mireasa lui Hristos, fericita; cu postul, cu privegherea cerestile daruri lu^and si cu rugaciunea pe ^ingeri ajung^and, firea omeneasca ai biruit si la cele ceresti te-ai mutat, las^andu-ne spre m^ang^aiere pestera si sfintele tale moaste. Pentru aceasta, Sf^anta Preacuvioasa Maica Teodora, roaga pe Hristos Dumnezeu sa m^antuiasca sufletele noastre.
TROPARUL SFINTEI CUVIOASE TEODORA DE LA SIHLA (GLAS 8)
Cele pamantesti parasind si frigul cel aspru al pustniciei in pesterile schitului Sihla asupra ta luand, te-ai facut mireasa a lui Hristos, fericita Teodora. Cu rugaciunea pe ingeri ajungand, cu postul si lacrimile de diavoli arzand, ai biruit slabiciunea firii omenesti si pe multi sihastri din Carpati intrecand, la cele ceresti te-ai mutat, lasandu-ne noua mangaiere pestera si pilda vietuirii. Sfanta, Preacurata Teodora, roaga-te lui Dumnezeu sa ne mantuiasca sufletele noastre.
