Venerable Theodore Trichinas “the Hair-Shirt Wearer” and Hermit Near Constantinople
Saint Theodore Trichinas was born in Constantinople, the son of wealthy and pious parents. From childhood Saint Theodore was inclined toward monasticism, so he left his home, family, and former life in order to enter a monastery in Thrace. There he began his arduous ascetic struggles. He dressed in a hair-shirt, from which he derived the name “Trichinas,” (or “Hair-Shirt Wearer”). He even slept on a stone in order avoid bodily comfort, and to prevent himself from sleeping too much.
His life was adorned with miracles, and he had the power to heal the sick. He reposed at the end of the fourth century, or the beginning of the fifth century. A healing myrrh flows from his relics.
The name of Saint Theodore Trichinas is one of the most revered in the history of Orthodox monasticism. Saint Joseph the Hymnographer (April 4) has composed a Canon to the saint.