How could you NOT love a matchup between a guy named Odo and another guy who is known as a Studite? Meet Odo of Cluny and Theodore the Studite (spoiler alert for those getting ready to leave a comment: autocorrect does not like "Studite." At all.)
Yesterday, in the most lopsided battle of Lent Madness 2017, Florence Nightingale routed Anselm of Canterbury 81% to 19%. She will move on to face Henry Beard Delany in the Saintly Sixteen.
And, finally, it's not everyday that ESPN covers that other famous bracket tournament that takes place in March. But recently ESPN radio in Louisville, Kentucky, interviewed passionate Lent Madness booster, the Rev. Katherine Doyle of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, about everyone's favorite online Lenten devotion. Take a listen as she appeared on the Bob Valvano show. It's a great segment which you can listen to by clicking here (the spot in question begins at 21:30 of the broadcast). Nice job!
Odo of Cluny
Odo was born circa 879 in France. Odo’s father Abbo secretly dedicated his son to Saint Martin, sending him to a priest for education and formation. But as Odo grew, he became a hale and hearty young man—much more suited, in his father’s opinion, to the life of a noble warrior. Abbo sent Odo to live at the court of one of the dukes of Aquitaine.
Odo recounts that while praying and singing one day in court, he was seized with a violent pain in his head. He suffered for three years until his father confessed his promise to dedicate his son to Saint Martin. Soon after, Odo received the tonsure—the practice of some monks to shave the crown of the head—and served at St. Martin’s Church in Tours.
After reading the Rule of Saint Benedict, Odo was horrified to realize how much his life (and the lives of his brother monks at Tours) deviated from the Rule. Monks at Tours discarded their habits in favor of the fashion of the day and often received gifts from noblemen in exchange for prayers. They wore expensive shoes and refused to walk outside for night prayers to avoid ruining their shoes. They ate lavish meals while ignoring the hungry.
Odo committed himself to living the Rule of Saint Benedict. He discarded his personal property, ate meager rations, and prayed fervently. He embraced the ascetic life and spoke out against the evils of the church of his time—ecclesiastical abuses, lack of prayer, and the oppression of the poor.
Odo entered the monastery at Baume where the Rule of Saint Benedict was strictly followed. Odo would eventually be appointed Abbot of Cluny. Odo visited Rome several times, negotiating peace between the violent power politics of warring nobles and the church. Monasteries in Italy and France summoned him to instill reform within their own walls.
Odo’s legacy is seen in the great age of monasteries, places where worship, care for the poor, and art flourished. His deep spirituality gives us insight into his zeal and commitment to reform holy orders. Odo died in 942 in Tours after assisting with worship on the Feast Day of Saint Martin of Tours.
Collect for Odo of Cluny
God of grace, you hear the promises we freely offer and see the hidden desires of every heart. We thank you for the example of your servant Odo, who zealously sought righteousness and lived out holy community in his life and work. Grant that we, in our own time and ways, would ever seek your will in our lives, to the honor of your son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Theodore the Studite
Theodore the Studite (759-826), also known as St. Theodore of Stoudios, was a Greek Orthodox monk. Born in 759, he grew up in a prominent bureaucratic family in Constantinople, receiving a private education that eventually came to be heavily focused around theology.
Theodore’s maternal uncle Platon encouraged the whole family to take monastic vows and transform the family farm into a monastery. Theodore, his father, and his sister joined Platon in 781 and sailed to Bithynia in northwest Asia Minor near the Black Sea. Following the guidance of the Greek bishop, Basil of Caesarea, they established a community that came to be known as the Sakkudion Monastery.
Shortly after Theodore was ordained a priest, Uncle Platon—the abbot of the Sakkudion—took a permanent vow of silence and handed control of the monastery to his nephew. Theodore did well running the Sakkudion Monastery, despite his persistent habit of denouncing the emperor’s divorce and remarriage. This led to years of exile, fights with and floggings from emperors, patriarchs, iconoclasts, and difficult popes. Ultimately, after lots of fasting, praying, and writing iambic verse about icons and clean living, Theodore revived the monastic community of Stoudios in Constantinople
Theodore built Stoudios into a major scholastic and artistic center. Under his leadership, Stoudios became known for its literary output. Theodore devised what amounted to a private mail system for the network of monasteries in and around Constantinople and wrote poems enshrining the community’s rule of life in an easy-to-remember form. Aside from his monastic innovations and reforms, Theodore is best known for two great works: the theological treatise On Holy Icons, a pivotal and foundational work for the use of icons in worship, and a letter he wrote instructing his followers not to own slaves—the first recorded Christian theological stand against slavery.
Collect for Theodore the Studite
Gracious God, who speaks to us in both the complexity of art and the quiet of simplicity, we thank you for your servant Theodore the Studite, who reminded your Church of the many ways in which you are present. Grant us, we pray, the eyes to see you wherever and whenever you appear, that we may see your glory in all your creation, and especially through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord. Amen.
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268 comments on “Odo of Cluny vs. Theodore the Studite”
I voted for Theodore because he followed Basil the Great, whose feast day is my birthday. And he's a Stud. Ite. (Sorry, couldn't help myself.)
I knew that, sooner or later, someone would make a comment about Theodore being a stud!
Two medieval monastic reformers! How to choose, how to choose?
Tough choice. I finally had to go with Odo for a very non-theological reason. My husband and I just finished watching re-runs of Star Trek Deep Space Nine and there is a character on the show called Odo. I like to think that maybe one of the writers of DS9 was aware of this Odo.
Odo is also a hobbit name in JRR Tolkiens Lord of the Rings. Odo Proudfoot is a 1st cousin of Bilbo and therefore a 2nd cousin once removed of Frodo Baggins. That influenced my vote, as well as Odo of Cluny's early efforts at eccliastical reform.
This was my reasoning, as well.
I'm throwing my vote to Theodore. Not only did he denounce slavery, but he seemed to have developed an early form of email to keep in touch with his fellow monks in the monasteries around Constantinople.
I love the idea of a "major scholastic and artistic center" and the painting of icons. I live next to a cultural center, and its influence abounds. I'm with you, Theo!
Teddy got my vote because I am hoping for a couple poems in further rounds. I love the name Odo which almost made me vote for him. I also liked his father. Please a poem next round.
Frankly, neither of them sound like they'd be any fun at a dinner party! But for his knack for light verse and early opposition to slavery, I went with Theodore.
Well, it's shaping up as a close battle so far. Over 1,000 votes cast, and Odo's ahead by 3 (thanks in part to my vote). I couldn't deny by vote to a man named Odo with a father named Abbo. Plus I love hanging out in monasteries, and it appears my man Odo had a lot to do with there being so many of them.
This will be a close one between two admirable servants of the Early Church. Just a five-vote differential as I cast my ballot.
At first I was all about Odo having a three year headache. But Theodore started the artistic center AND used icons in worship. I am learning to paint icons, so that's my guy!
A man by the name of Abbo gives his son the moniker Odo.....how can I not love that?:) But I also love the Benedictines, so Odo it is.
Studite! Studite! Studite!
Not having autocorrect is great!
The hardest one yet; I opted to vote for Odo; shape-shifters get such a bad rap...no seriously, his devotion to reform at such an early time in the church is remarkable, and his work on negotiation admirable. Theo the Stud had many things going for him as well, especially being a very early voice against slavery. That almost tipped the scales. But nevertheless, I voted for Odo.
The LM bio for ODO conveniently omits that he negotiated that peace through an arranged , and involuntary, marriage. Human trafficking much?
This looks like a close one!
I love Theodore's zeal in defending the holy images, but I also love Odo's work in reforming the church. Today has been a tough decision.
Looks to be a nail-biter. I voted for Odo, but could have easily gone the other way. I'm thinking of this as the "Ted the Stud v. Odo You Didn't" smackdown.
No offense to any champions of either saint. Just enjoying the Madness today with a dash of humor.
Got to love Theodore's stand against slavery. I admired Odo's rage-against-the-machine attitude toward his luxury-loving monks, but in the end it was the fight against slavery not the fight against luxury that struck me as the more righteous struggle.
Very hard choice today; but I voted for Odo because I know the monks of Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, Mass. and their work in the community and support of people with so little.
Since this is Lent Madness...I let Madness help me vote...there is luny in Cluny and there is odor in Theodore...so Odo of Cluny received my vote...putting madness aside...I have suffered migraine doozies and can relate to head pain...we had common hurts and common rules to distract us from the hurts...Prayer UP!!
Really hard today. Nearly contemporary to each other, both reformers and deeply committed--'fraid I have to follow Oliver's reasoning, add the icon piece (they fascinate me), and listen to my dear friend Megan: Theodore it is!
Theododre got my vote because growing up I went to the Orthodox church and I totally love icons and the fact that he abolished slavery.
Odo looked to the past (returning to the Rule of St. Benedict), which is good, but Theodore looked to the future (establishing a mail system, making monastic rules easier to remember, antislavery), which is better. My vote is for Theodore.
Yeah, this one was the hardest yet. As a fan of the Star Trek franchise, of course I'm going to like a saint named Odo. And as a migraineur, I have total sympathy for someone with a three year headache. But for me, it came down to Theodore's condemnation of slavery, followed by his defense of icons. I have a pair of small icons I keep on my desk at work, and have a great affection for icons. (And writing rules in verse so they can be remembered is lovely, too.) So Theodore it is.
Thanks for this match-up, although it was very hard. I voted for Odo more on the basis of gut reaction than any rational reason (I do applaud Theodore's stand against slavery, and I do love icons as well.) Maybe St. Martin intervened -- when I made my Cursillo I sat at his table. I want to pass on to the SEC that the first time I tried to vote it didn't seem to work. So I got off the site and back on and voted and that time everything went normally. If two votes came in for me, please delete one; it was unintentional.
I'm with you, Oliver! As soon as I saw the bit about his early stand against slavery, he had my vote.
Had to go for the man who argued in favor of icongraphy.
We agree with the thoughts of everyone so far concerning Odo. One of the reasons we voted for him was because we thought it was pretty Holy Spirit awesome that Odo passed away on the feast of St. Martin of Tours, the very Saint to which his father dedicated Odo.
I completely agree, although I still liked Theo, I voted for Odo.
All-in for Odo of Cluny! Passionate reformer, ascetic, advocate of the oppressed and the poor, followed the Rule of St Benedict! And his name kinda sorta sounds like a character in the Lord of the Rings, so there's that
Indeed! Odo Proudfoot was 1st cousin to Bilbo Baggins.
As a poet (and someone who's rather protective of my fancy shoes) I have to pick Theodore, though the Star Trek fan in me was leaning toward Odo! Good matchup today.