Theodore of Perge in Pamphylia, a region of southern Asia Minor, is commemorated together with his mother Philippa and the martyrs Dioscorus, Socrates, and Dionysius. According to the synaxarion their martyrdom took place during the reign of the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161). The five are kept as a single commemoration, with their principal feast on April 21 and a secondary commemoration of Theodore "and those with him" on April 19.
By tradition the youth Theodore was taken up in a conscription of robust young men for military service and brought before the military commander Theodotus, who ordered him to sacrifice to the idols. When Theodore refused both persuasion and threats, he was placed on a red-hot plate and had liquid tar poured over him; the synaxarion relates that an earthquake followed and a torrent of water burst from the ground, extinguishing the fire and leaving him unharmed.
The account names several companions drawn into Theodore's confession. The pagan priest Dioscorus, challenged to prove his own gods, came instead to believe in Christ and died giving thanks to him. The soldiers Socrates and Dionysius were converted by witnessing Theodore's steadfastness amid his torments and openly confessed the God of the Christians. Theodore's mother Philippa is said to have received, at his birth, a revelation that her son would be crucified for Christ.
When the martyrs would not recant, the commander ordered Theodore crucified and the others put to death. The tradition relates that Theodore hung upon the cross for three days, praying, before he died; Socrates and Dionysius were pierced with a spear, and Philippa was beheaded.
