Thomais of Lesbos
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Lesbos
Constantinople
Thomais of Lesbos | |
|---|---|
| Protector of Marriage | |
| Born | between 909 and 913 Lesbos |
| Died | between 947 and 951 Constantinople |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Thessalonike |
| Feast | 3 January |
Thomais of Lesbos (born 909/913 - died 947/951), also Saint Thomais, was a Byzantine woman from Lesbos and saint. She is a rare example of a married laywoman who achieved sanctity through her daily life and she is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, her feast day being on 3 January.
Based on the dates provided in one of her vitas, it seems that Thomais was born at some point between the years 909 and 913 on the isle of Lesbos, though some doubts remain.[1] She was the daughter of a prosperous couple who had long remained childless.[2] At some point, she moved with her family to the Bosporus, possibly to Chalcedon.[3] There, though she desired to stay a virgin, she was married at age 24 to a certain Stephen. The marriage was not happy and Stephen beat her frequently and discouraged her charitable activities. She died in Constantinople at age 38 on 1 January (between 947 or 951 if the dating in her vita is correct).[4] Her body was interred in the monastery of Theotokos ta Mikra Romaiou where also her mother, who had entered the convent after the death of Thomais' father, had been a nun and buried.[2]