with Theodote, not only did Theodore and his brother Joseph, bishop of Thessalonica, and their venerable uncle Plato, endure imprisonment and exile, but every monk in the Studion defied the emperor. When the Emperor Nicephorus ordered the restoration of the priest who had celebrated the marriage of Constantine VI. The Studion had, therefore, a master who feared the face of no man, and who counted the most terrible sufferings as the small dust of the balance when weighed against righteousness, and under him the House became illustrious for its resistance to the tyranny of the civil power in matters affecting faith and morals. repudiated the Empress Maria and married Theodote, one of her maids of honour, Theodore, though the new empress was his relative, denounced the marriage and the priest who had celebrated it, insisting that moral principles should govern the highest and lowest alike, and for this action he had gladly endured scourging and exile. Theodore had already established a great reputation for sanctity and moral courage. Under these circumstances a company of monks, with the famous abbot Theodore at their head, were eventually brought from the monastery of Saccudio to repeople the Studion, and with their advent in 799 the great era in the history of the House began, the number of the monks rising to seven hundred, if not one thousand. Under Constantine Copronymus, indeed, the fraternity was scattered to the winds and practically suppressed, so that only twelve old members of the House were able to take advantage of the permission to return to their former home, upon the first restoration of eikons in 787 by the Empress Irene.
Like other monastic institutions, the Studion suffered greatly at the hands of the iconoclast emperors. The new roof was a remarkable piece of work large sums were spent upon the proper accommodation of the monks, and the grounds were enclosed within strong walls. Constantine, rich, generous, fond of popularity, did all in his power to restore the former glory of the venerated shrine. Owing to the neglect of the building during the Latin occupation the roof had fallen in, the cells of the monks had disappeared, and sheep grazed undisturbed on the grass which covered the grounds. The next repairs on record were made about the year 1290, in the reign of Andronicus II., by his unfortunate brother Constantine Porphyrogenitus. But, according to Scylitzes, they were so extensive that 'to tell in detail what the emperor and empress did for the embellishment of the church would surpass the labour of Hercules.' Probably they concerned chiefly the decoration of the edifice. It was first taken in hand for that purpose, soon after the middle of the eleventh century, by the Emperor Isaac Comnenus (1057-58), who was interested in the House because he and his brother had received part of their education in that 'illustrious and glorious school of virtue.' What the repairs then made exactly involved is unfortunately not stated.
In the course of its history the church underwent noteworthy repairs on two occasions. The monks of the Studion should therefore not be identified with the Akoimeti who took up such a determined and independent attitude in the theological conflicts under Zeno, Basiliscus, and Justinian the Great. But this devout practice does not seem to have been long continued at the Studion for we never hear of it in any account of the discipline of the House.
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