Donatus of Euroea and Theotimus of Scythia

At this time there were many other bishops in various parts of the empire who were highly celebrated for their holiness and their gifts. Of these, Donatus, bishop of Euroea in Epirus, deserves special mention. The people of that country tell of many extraordinary miracles he performed, and the most famous seems to have been the killing of a dragon of enormous size. It had taken up its place on the highway, at a spot called Chamaegephyrae, and it devoured sheep, goats, oxen, horses, and people. Donatus came upon this beast and attacked it unarmed, without sword, spear, or javelin. It raised its head and was about to rush at him, when Donatus made the sign of the cross in the air with his finger and spat on the dragon. The spittle went into its mouth, and it died at once. As it lay stretched out on the ground, it looked no smaller than the famous serpents of India. I have been told that the people of the country yoked eight pairs of oxen to haul the body to a nearby field, where they burned it, so that as it rotted it would not foul the air and breed disease. [a]

The tomb of this bishop lies in a magnificent house of prayer that bears his name. It stands near a spring of abundant water, which God caused to rise from the ground in answer to his prayer, in a dry place where there had been no water before. For it is said that once, on a journey, he had to pass through this place. Seeing that his companions were suffering from thirst, he stirred the soil with his hands and began to pray, and before he had finished his prayer a spring of water rose from the ground. It has never dried up since. The people of Isoria, a village in the territory of Euroea, bear witness to the truth of this story.

At this time the church of Tomi, and indeed all the churches of Scythia, were governed by Theotimus, a Scythian. He had been brought up in the practice of philosophy, and his virtues had so won the admiration of the barbarian Huns who lived along the Danube that they called him the god of the Romans, for they had seen divine works done by him. It is said that one day, as he was traveling toward the country of the barbarians, he saw some of them advancing toward Tomi. His attendants broke out in lamentation and at once gave themselves up for lost, but he simply got down from his horse and prayed. As a result the barbarians passed by without seeing him, his attendants, or the horses they had dismounted from. Since these tribes often laid Scythia waste with their raids, he tried to tame their fierceness by giving them food and gifts. From this, one of the barbarians concluded that he was a rich man and decided to take him prisoner. He leaned on his shield, as was his custom when parleying with enemies, and raised his right hand to throw a rope, which he held firmly, over the bishop, meaning to drag him off to his own country. But in the attempt his hand stayed stretched out in the air, and the barbarian was not freed from these dreadful bonds until his companions had begged Theotimus to intercede with God for him. [b]

It is said that Theotimus always kept the long hair he had worn when he first gave himself to the practice of philosophy. He was very temperate. He had no set hours for his meals, but ate and drank when hunger and thirst forced him to. I consider it the mark of a philosopher to give in to these appetites out of necessity, and not out of love of sensual pleasure.