9th century
Saint Theophano the Empress
Byzantine empress, first wife of Leo VI the Wise.
Biography
Theophano was born in Constantinople around 866, daughter of Constantine Martinakios. She married the future emperor Leo VI the Wise around 882, in a match arranged by his father Basil I, and became empress when Leo came to the throne in 886.
She was known for her charity; according to tradition she visited the homes of the poor and persecuted in disguise to help them. Her marriage, however, was not a happy one, since Leo came to prefer Zoe Zaoutzaina, and around 893 Theophano withdrew to a monastery at Blachernae, where she died in 897.
The Church declared her a saint after her death, with her feast kept on 16 December. Her husband built a church in her honour near the Holy Apostles, where her relics were placed; they were later moved to the Patriarchate, where they are kept to this day.