According to Bar Hebraeus, Theodore was a monk in the desert of Skete in Egypt who later moved to the monastery of Qenneshre in Syria.[1] He was consecrated as patriarch of Antioch by the bishop Abraham of Emesa.[1] Sources disagree on the date of Theodore's consecration as patriarch, as it is placed in December 649 by Bar Hebraeus in his Ecclesiastical History,[1] whilst the Zuqnin Chronicle dates the consecration to 650/1.[2] He continued to reside at Qenneshre for the duration of his term as patriarch.[3]
The vita of Theodotus of Amida relates that, when the young Theodotus, a monk of Qenneshre, was preparing to leave the monastery, Theodore convinced him to prolong his stay for one year because he foresaw that his own death was approaching.[3] Theodotus remained in Qenneshre until Theodore's death, and attended the patriarch's funeral before making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Egypt.[3] The vita also attests that the patriarch was mourned by Christians and Muslims alike.[4] According to the Zuqnin Chronicle, as well as the Chronicle of 819 and Chronicle of 846, Theodore's death was in 664/5,[2] whereas it is dated to 666/7 by Bar Hebraeus.[1]
