7th century
Saint Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury
A Greek cleric from Tarsus who became Archbishop of Canterbury in the seventh century and reorganised the Church in England.
Biography
Theodore was born in Tarsus in Cilicia in 602 and, when the city fell to the Arabs, fled to Constantinople, where he studied. He later settled in Rome, living as a monk, until the Pope chose him, already well advanced in years, for the see of Canterbury.
As Archbishop of Canterbury (668–690) he reorganised the Church in England, founded a school where he taught Greek and Latin, and helped give the English Church a unified structure. He died in 690, aged 88, having left a lasting mark on the religious and intellectual life of early England.