Why Orthodox Homes Cook and Eat Wheat with Honey Tomorrow: On Theodore's Saturday, We Remember One of the Greatest Miracles in Orthodoxy
From the first day of fasting to Holy Week, a guide through services, spiritual exercises, confession, communion, and daily habits that help prepare for the celebration of Christ's Resurrection.
TL;DR
- The first Saturday of Great Lent is dedicated to the memory of Saint Theodore Tyron's miracle in Constantinople.
- Emperor Julian the Apostate attempted to secretly defile Christians by having markets sell food tainted with blood from idol sacrifices.
- Saint Theodore Tyron appeared to Archbishop Eudoxius, revealing the plot and instructing him to have Christians eat koljivo (wheat with honey) instead.
- The archbishop followed the saint's instructions, saving the faithful from unknowingly consuming the defiled food.
- Since then, Orthodox Christians prepare koljivo on this day to remember the miracle and the saint's intervention.