The Refugee Who Ran the English Church: The Life & Career of Theodore of Tarsus (Powell & Warren)

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In this episode, Kristian Powell, a master’s student at Fordham University, is joined by his classmate Thomas Warren to discuss the multicultural life of Theodore of Tarsus, beginning with Theodore’s life and formative years in Tarsus and his early studies in Antioch and Edessa. With the Byzantine–Sasanian War from 602–628, Theodore spent his first 28 years surrounded by war, facilitating some of his earliest interactions with other cultures. Faced with yet another major war in the early Islamic conquests, Theodore fled his home for Constantinople, spending a few years learning law and medicine. As early as the mid 640s, Theodore found his way to Rome, perhaps even serving as a participant of the Lateran Council of 649. While living as an Eastern monk in Rome, probably with other refugees from Tarsus and Asia Minor, Theodore came to the attention of Pope Vitalian by way of Hadrian, an Abbot of African origin who offered up Theodore as a candidate for the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. Finally, Kristian and Thomas discuss Theodore’s legacy and impact on the early church in England, something that is seen clearly in the writings of Bede.

Kristian Powell is a masters student in medieval studies at Fordham University. An early medievalist, Kristian focuses primarily on the religious lives of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, as well as on Uncial and Carolingian paleography.

Thomas Warren is a masters student in medieval studiess at Fordham University. Focusing on the twelfth century, Thomas is primarily concerned with the intellectual life around religious centers such as Saint-Genevieve in Paris.

Further resources:

• Archbishop Theodore: Commemorative Studies on his Life and Influence, edited by Michael Lapidge

• The School of Theodore and Hadrian by Michael Lapidge

• Biblical Commentaries from the Canterbury School of Theodore and Hadrian by Michael Lapidge and Bernard Bischoff

  
  

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