Theoctista
Overview
Date of Birth6th centuryBiography
Theoctista was a sister of the Byzantine emperor, Maurice, who reigned from 582 to 602 and waged successful war with the Sassanid Persians and the Avars in the Balkans, and established Exarchates in Ravenna and in Africa. At the beginning of his reign, according to John of Ephesus, he sent for his father Paul, his mother, and two sisters, one a widow (Theoctista), the wife of Philippicus, to come to Constantinople from Cappadocia. Maurice was overthrown and executed in 602.
Pope Gregory I corresponded with Theoctista, whom he knew from his days as papal emissary in Constantinople. She was an apparently devout member of the imperial household, whom Gregory encourages to influence the family for good.
