Pulcheria was a Byzantine empress of the fifth century, daughter of the emperor Arcadius and granddaughter of Theodosius the Great. From a young age she took a vow of virginity and dedicated herself to a life of piety, while exercising a decisive influence over the affairs of the Eastern Roman Empire. She served as coregent and adviser to her younger brother Theodosius II and, later in life, reigned alongside her husband Marcian. She is remembered above all for her steadfast defense of Orthodox teaching during the christological controversies of her century.
Through her efforts the Third Ecumenical Council was held at Ephesus in 431, which condemned the teaching of Nestorius and affirmed the title Theotokos for the Virgin Mary; and the Fourth Ecumenical Council was convened at Chalcedon in 451, which addressed the teachings associated with Dioscorus and Eutyches. She was noted by her contemporaries for her education, her wisdom, and her firm adherence to Orthodox doctrine, and she built a number of churches in Constantinople dedicated to the Mother of God.
Pulcheria died in 453. She is commemorated in the Orthodox Church as a right-believing empress, with feast days on September 10 and February 17, and she is also venerated in the Roman Catholic tradition.
