Defender - Nimble Spirit

Saint Ildefonso of Toledo: defender of the virginity of Mary

Born in Toledo, around 607, of Gothic parents, he was first a monk then Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Cosme-et-Saint-Damien d’Agali, near Toledo. He then became Archbishop of Toledo in 657. He died in 667. He wrote a Defense of the perpetual virginity of Mary. This writing ends with a long prayer of which here … Read more

Saint Theodore Studite: defender of icons and mystical life

by Jonathon Gonzalez

Saint Theodore was born in Constantinople in 759, into a family of high officials. He received a careful education. Around 780, he followed, with all his family, his uncle Plato, to Bithynia, to become a monk. They founded a new monastery there. He refounded the monastery of Studion – hence its name Studite – in … Read more