Theodore bishop of Methone (tenth/eleventh century)
Obverse
Bust of St. John the Theologian blessing and holding book. Inscription in two columns: |ΙΩ|ΟΘ|ΕΟ|Λ,: Ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Θεολόγος. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, preceded and followed by decoration. Border of dots.
ΚΕ,Θ,
ΘΕΟΔΡ,
.Π,ΚΟΠ
ΜΕΘ,
Κύριε βοήθει Θεοδώρῳ ἐπισκόπῳ Μεθώνης
Obverse
Bust of St. John the Theologian blessing and holding book. Inscription in two columns: |ΙΩ|ΟΘ|ΕΟ|Λ,: Ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Θεολόγος. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of four lines, preceded and followed by decoration. Border of dots.
ΚΕ,Θ,
ΘΕΟΔΡ,
.Π,ΚΟΠ
ΜΕΘ,
Κύριε βοήθει Θεοδώρῳ ἐπισκόπῳ Μεθώνης
| Accession number | BZS.1955.1.4679 |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 22.0 mm |
| Previous Editions | DO Seals 2, no. 30.2a. |
Translation
Κύριε βοήθει Θεοδώρῳ ἐπισκόπῳ Μεθώνης.
Lord, help Theodore bishop of Methone.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and at the Fogg Museum of Art, vol. 2: South of the Balkans, the Islands, south of Asia Minor
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin, vol. 5, L’Église
- Βυζαντιακὰ μολυβδόβουλλα τοῦ ἐν ἈΘήναις Ἐθνικοῦ Νομισματικοῦ Μουσείου
- Sigillographie de l’Empire byzantin
- Catalogue of Seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum
- Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae
- Hierarchia Ecclesiastica Orientalis: Series episcoporum ecclesiarum christianarum orientalium
- The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
Commentary
Today Methone, in the southwestern tip of the Peloponnesos. The ancient city is still attested in the 6th century; the bishopric may have already existed in the 4th century, but it (re?)appears in the early 9th as a suffragan of the newly created metropolis of Patras. It is mentioned in the controversial iconoclastic notitia (as a suffragan of Corinth) and then in all notitiae, starting with that of Leo VI, under Patras (Darrouzès, Notitiae, no. 3, line 762; no. 7, line 551). See Laurent, Corpus V/1, 482; Fedalto, 510; ODB II, 1356. The cathedral of Methone being dedicated to St. John the Theologian (NE 7 [1910] 156-57), this saint appears on most seals of its bishops.