Teodosie cel Mare (împărat)

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Theodosius I

Sfântul și binecredinciosul împărat Teodosie I, numit şi Teodosie cel Mare (grec. Θεοδόσιος ο Μέγας), a fost ultimul împărat roman care a condus întregul Imperiu Roman (între anii 379 și 395), înainte de divizarea acestuia în cel două imperii - de răsărit şi de apus. Teodosie cel Mare este cunoscut şi pentru că a decretat creştinismul ortodox ca religie oficială a Imperiului Roman. A fost un puternic apărător al credinţei ortodoxe şi trecut în rândul sfinţilor, prăznuirea lui făcându-se la data de 17 ianuarie.

Viaţa

Teodosie cel Mare (numele roman fiind Flavius Theodosius) s-a născut pe 11 ianuarie 347 la Cauca în nord-vestul provinciei romane Hispania (azi Coca, în Spania). Era fiul generalului Flavius Theodosius cel Bătrân, mama sa numindu-se Thermantia; ambii săi părinţi erau creştini ortodocşi.

S-a căsătorit cu Aelia Flacilla, de la care a avut doi fii, Arcadie şi Honorius (urmaşii săi la tron), şi o fiică, Pulcheria. Soţia sa, Aelia Flacilla (cunoscută şi ca Placilla sau Plachilla), este prăznuită ca sfântă pe data de 14 septembrie. Atât Aelia, cât şi fiica sa Pulcheria au murit în anul in 385. Mai târziu, Teodosiu s-a căsătorit cu Galla, fiica împăratului Valentinian I, cu care a avut o fiică, Galla Placidia, viitoarea mamă a împăratului Valentinian al III-lea.

Mergând pe urmele tatălui său, Teodosie îmbrăţişează şi el cariera militară, ajungând la demnitatea de dux în provincia Moesia superioară în anul 374, după ce se distinsese în bătăliile purtate împotriva sarmaţilor la Dunărea de Jos.

La scurt timp însă, datorită faptului că tatăl său (generalul roman Flavius Theodosius cel Bătrân) căzuse în dizgraţie şi fusese executat la ordinul împăratului Valentinian I, Teodosie s-a retras la moşiile sale în Spania (în 376), aparent temându-se de persecuţiile împăratului din cauza legăturilor sale de familie. Dar reputaţia sa din domeniul militar nu a fost uitată, şi după moartea lui Valentinian I, urmaşii acestuia, co-împăraţii Valentinian al II-lea şi Graţian, l-au rechemat pe Teodosie, încredinţându-i comanda unei noi campanii împotriva sarmaţilor.


Theodosius regained his commission, fought the Sarmatians again, and won the rank of magister militum per Illyricum in 376. In 378, Gratian appointed Theodosius co-augustus for the East after Valens was killed in the Battle of Adrianople. In 383, Gratian was also killed in a rebellion. Also in 383, Theodosius named his son Arcadius as co-augustus in the east. With the death of Valentinian II in 392, Theodosius became the ruler of the Roman Empire as the sole emperor; he was the last Roman emperor to do so.

Upon becoming emperor, Theodosius’ attention was called by the entrenched Goths in the Balkans, the solution to which occupied Theodosius for the first two years of his reign. On November 24, 380, Theodosius was finally able to enter Constantinople, and a settlement with the Gothic forces was finally achieved with the signing of treaties on October 3, 382. During the latter 380s, Theodosius was occupied with aiding Valentinian II in the West against the usurper Clemens Maximus. This episode was finally concluded when Theodosius’ army defeated Maximus in 388. The captured Maximus was then executed on August 28, 388.

With Valentinian II’s death, under questionable circumstances, Theodosius gave his son Honorius the full rank of Augustus of the West in January 393. In the meantime, the magister militum Arbogast, who had served under Valentinian II, elected Eugenius, a former teacher of rhetoric and a pagan, as emperor of the West. Armed force was needed to settle the usurpation. Aiding Honorius, Theodosius led the campaign against Eugenius, culminating in the two-day Battle of Frigidus on September 5 and 6, 394. The first day of the battle did not go well for Theodosius’ forces, but the battle turned on the second day after it was said that two “heavenly riders all in white” gave Theodosius courage, and a Bora (natural air current) arose with its cyclonic winds blowing directly into the face of Eugenius’ forces, disrupting his line of battle. Eugenius was captured and soon executed.

Trinitarian Christianity

While born into a Christian family, Theodosius was not baptized until 380, when a serious sickness in Thessalonica brought him to make the decision. He was baptized by the Orthodox bishop of Thessalonica, Ascholios, after assuring himself that the bishop was not an Arian. From the start of his reign, a considerable part of Theodosius’ activities were spent defending the Orthodox faith and suppressing Arianism. In February 380, he joined with Gratian in a edict declaring that all subjects of their domains should profess the Orthodox faith. Upon entering Constantinople, Theodosius began to expel the Arian party from their hold there. St. Gregory of Nazianzus was elected patriarch of Constantinople by the Second Ecumenical Council, which had been called into session in 381 to deal with a number of issues, including the Creed, various heretics, and the order of honor among the patriarchates.

During his reign Theodosius, while holding strictly to the Trinitarian position of the first two Ecumenical Councils, attempted to be conciliatory with the heretical parties but was not successful. In 388, against the remnants of the pagans, Theodosius took severe measures, sending prefects throughout the Middle East, destroying temples and disrupting pagan associations. In 391, Theodosius refused the restoration of the Altar of Victory in the Roman senate. He also put an end to the Olympic games.

With the rise of Eugenius, the pagan forces made an armed attempt to restore pagan rites. Eugenius set up pagan altars in Rome, including the Altar of Victory. Thus Theodosius' Christian armies met Eugenius near Aquileia on September 6, 394, once more the Christians triumphed over the banner of the ancient gods, and Theodosius entered Rome as the sole emperor of the now finally Christian empire.

Theodosius proclaimed his two sons, Arcadius and Honorius, augusti earlier during his life, and with his death Arcadius became emperor of the eastern half of the empire and Honorius emperor of the western half. Theodosius died in Milan on January 17, 395. St Ambrose, with whom Theodosius had a close relationship, preached his funeral oration ("De obitu Theodosii", P. L., XVI, 1385). With the division of the empire between his sons, his death was a milestone in history: The Roman world was never again to be united.

Surse

Legături externe


Casetă de succesiune:
Teodosie cel Mare (împărat)
Precedat de:
Valentinian al II-lea
Împărat roman
379-395
Urmat de:
Arcadie împărat la Răsărit
Honorius împărat la Apus