The „Testament“ of St. Theodore the Studite as an apology of the Orthodoxy of the Holy fathers from Gaza Barsanuphius the Great and Abba Dorotheos

Abstract

The Testament of St. Theodore the Studite is a script that represents the conclusion of his work, the meaning and the testimony of his prior and shepherd activity. What is even more interesting, at the beginning of this paper, St. Theodore has exposed his view of the Orthodoxy of several venerable fathers, among which he mentioned St. Abba Dorotheus and, in particular, St. Barsanuphius the Great. This article aims to carry out philological and theological-historical analysis of this very interesting apology.

Keywords

• apology
• orthodoxy
• monophysitism
• testament of Theodore the Studite
• Byzantine Empire