St. Theodora of Alexandria

Although St. Theodora had a wonderful husband, she fell into adultery as a young woman. Afterwards, weeping bitterly, she disguised herself as a man in order to repent for her sins as a monk. She was accepted into the monastery and took the name Theodore.

One day, a young woman came to visit the monastery and accused her of making her pregnant. Instead of defending herself, remembering her own past, she simply took the infant and raised it lovingly as her own. When the child was nine years old and she was about to depart from this life, she gave him the following advice:

Listen, my beloved child, I see that my ife has reached its end. I am longing to go as quickly as possible to the true and blessed life. You, my child, I leave to God, the Father of orphans, and to the head of the monastery. Seek my child, nobility of soul, which is genuine, and not that of the flesh, which is false. Do not seek honor from men, for that is a cause of stumbling, but seek the glory of heaven. Hate much sleep, love abstinence, and avoid luxurious clothes. Always be zealous in prayer. Take care that you are not absent from the divine services even once, be sympathetic with the brethren, help as much as you can, and serve the sick. Do not seek to live by question, bow your face to the earth, and so answer. Do not mock anyone, especially if they have misfortunes. If you hear that a brother's conduct is irregular, pray that God will correct him. Visit the sick, minister to the bretheren like their servant, and you will be a friend of Christ, Who became a slave for your sake. Pray always, my child, so as not to fall into temptations. But if you fall, immediately rise and correct yourself by repentance, and again hasten by prayer. If you live this way, my child, you will have God always at your hand, to hear you and to assist your soul and body.

Right before her burial, they discovered that she was a woman, and had been falsely accused. Her son later became an abbot of a monastery. Her husband came to her funeral and also became a monk, continuing to struggle for Christ and his salvation in her very cell.

Thus, her fall brought her to the desert where she not only saved her own soul, but that of her husband, the child she reared, and countless others inspired by her life. She is commemorated every September 11^th.