Patriarch Methodius,the Author of the Lost First Life of Theodore of Stoudios

Through his hagiographical writings, Patriarch Methodius of Constantinople played a crucial role in shaping the canonical narrative of the iconophile resistance during the first half of the 9th century. This article makes the case that Methodius not only wrote the Lives of the confessors Theophanes of Sigriane and Euthymius of Sardes, he was also the author of the now lost first Life of Theodore of Stoudios, which then served as the model for the extant Vita B by the Studite monk Michael.