Today in Lent Madness action, the Round of 32 continues as Sundar Singh takes on Theodore of Tarsus, as we toggle between the early 20th and 7th centuries.
Yesterday, Rose of Lima advanced over Quiteria (hey, there just aren't that many saints that begin with the letter Q!) 58% to 42%.
Also yesterday, the Supreme Executive Committee released the beast of the new on-air Lent Madness talent, as Fr. Christian Anderson of Stuart, FL, and Fr. Michael Sahdev of Beverly Hills, CA, pumped up the penitential hype with their first episode of Monday Madness. If you missed it, be sure to tune in and view Lent Madness history in the making. People in the church love change and innovation!
Oh, and go follow the new Lent Madness Instagram page. We know what you're thinking -- "Why was there no Lent Madness Instagram page?!" Well, there is now. And you should drop everything and go follow it! Well, maybe vote first.
Vote now!
Sundar Singh
Born in 1889 to a Sikh family in Punjab in British India, Sundar Singh would seem a most unlikely missionary. Singh’s mother took him to learn from a Hindu sadhu, an ascetic holy man, from a young age, being taught the Bhagavad Gita, while also sending him to a Christian school to learn English. Yet when Singh’s mother died when he was fourteen, he sought to reject religious practice altogether, burning a Bible page by page in anger. In his grief, and finding no answers to his questions, he decided to end his own life, asking the “True God” to appear to stop him. That same night, he had a vision of Jesus Christ.
Convinced, he announced to his father that he would undertake Jesus’s missionary work; his father would reject him, and his own brother attempt to poison him. But by his sixteenth birthday, he was baptized. Wearing the saffron turban and robe of a sadhu, Singh went out carrying the gospel of Jesus with him, believing that Indians must be converted to Christianity in an Indian way. He became known as “the apostle with the bleeding feet” because of his travels throughout Punjab, Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan (partially in modern-day Pakistan).
In 1909 he began training for ministry at an Anglican college in Lahore. His tenure there was brief, as his convictions made him unwilling to conform to Western Anglican notions of ministry. He left after only eight months—knowing that wearing European clerical dress or singing English hymns would not speak to the culture around him. He concluded that Western civilization was running fully in opposition to Christian values, as it was indelibly marked by materialism and colonialism.
Almost certainly because of his earnest desire to proclaim Jesus Christ in the language and texture of India, during Singh’s twenties, his mission spread greatly; by his thirties he was a recognized Christian figure in British India—with one aphorism saying that “he talks like Jesus must have talked.” His work was informed by his habitual practices of morning meditation on the gospels. Perhaps because of his earnest critiques of the sins and faults of Western society—and perhaps because of Western society’s reckoning found among the ashes of World War I—Singh travelled to the West in 1920 and 1922 to acclaim. But the experience only reinforced the emptiness, irreligion, and materialism that had isolated him those years before. Returning to India, he devoted himself to writing.
In 1929, Singh took a final trip to Tibet, during which he disappeared. Yet his legacy of an Indian Church for the Indian people lived on, making him a titanic figure in this history of Christianity in the subcontinent.
Collect for Sundar Singh
Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant Sundar Singh whom you called to preach the Gospel to the people of India. Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Theodore of Tarsus
His name might not be immediately recognized, but there is no denying the impact of Theodore of Tarsus on the church.
Born in 602 in Tarsus in Asia Minor (also the birthplace of St. Paul), Theodore received a well-rounded education, studying in Athens as well as in his hometown. The war with the Persian Empire forced Theodore and his family to flee to Constantinople, where he continued his studies.
He eventually found his way to Rome, where he continued his education by joining a monastery. While in the Roman monastery, he was tapped by Pope Vitalian on March 26, 668, to be the seventh Archbishop of Canterbury. Theodore was sixty-six years old—considered elderly at that time—but his advanced years did not deter his determination and his dedication.
When he arrived in Canterbury, he found a church in disarray, facing countless internal squabbles. Nonetheless, Theodore was able to deal with the many issues he faced because he was intelligent, wise, innovative, and a fair administrator.
Theodore was often called upon to settle disputes among dioceses and kingdoms alike. In his rulings he showed mercy, understanding, and forgiveness. Thanks to Theodore, a resolution was molded between the Celtic and Roman customs, an issue that had been causing great division throughout Britain. He established a school in Canterbury that rapidly grew in reputation and knowledge.
Many consider his greatest—and most enduring—accomplishment to be the establishment of a common feast day for Easter, which was no easy feat in the early church.
Of note, Theodore mentored the great Cuthbert, ordaining him Bishop of Hexham in 684. The Venerable Bede wrote about the influence Theodore had on the lives of other great clerics, guiding them in the way of the faith and the church.
Theodore served as Archbishop of Canterbury for twenty-two years, dying at age eighty-eight on September 19, 690. He is buried, along with Augustine and other early archbishops of Canterbury, in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul at Canterbury, known today as St. Augustine’s Abbey.
September 19 is the feast day of Theodore of Tarsus.
Collect for Theodore of Tarsus
Almighty God, who gave your servant Theodore of Tarsus gifts of grace and wisdom to establish unity where there had been division and order where there had been chaos: Create in your church, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, such godly union and concord that it may proclaim, both by word and example, the Gospel of the Prince of Peace; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
69 comments on “Sundar Singh vs. Theodore of Tarsus”
In Tarsus was Theodore bred;
Then from Rome off to Britain he sped.
He achieved endless fame
Making Easter the same
For the Celts and the Romans, it’s said.
And this year, Orthodox Easter is also celebrated on April 20th!
I must go with Sundar Singh! I loved learning about him. And I support the concept of, "believing that Indians must be converted to Christianity in an Indian way."
An easy choice today. I'll give routine respect to Teddy for being an administrator, organizer, bishop, yadda yadda yadda. But Sundar Singh's story was inspiring. My vote goes to the apostle with the bleeding feet.
Singh! Singh! Singh!
Please Update the 2025 Bracket. You are two behind!!!!
Interesting contest. Just came across it on Facebook.
Going with Sundar Singh today. I love it when Lent Madness teaches me about folks I’ve never heard of whose example opens my heart and mind in a new way.
I became an Episcopalian about 40 years ago — so a fairly long time on this road in human terms — but grew up Southern Baptist and still miss the hymns of my childhood, so I so respond to Sundar Singh’s love of Jesus but wanting to share that love in a way that fits the culture around him. I respect that he understood the difference between true spirituality and received practice (and in this case, a kind of colonialist assumed superiority that must have pervaded all of British India at the time) enough to leave seminary and serve his community in a way that truly spoke to them.
Also, having lost a parent in childhood, my heart goes out to the young Sundar, grieving a parent and asking God why. What an amazing journey his faith story is. And what could have happened to him on that last trip to Tibet that he just disappeared? I wish we knew.
Happily Theodore never enrolled in CPG’s care,
as he far surpassed their boundary of gray hair,
but bloody feet, Tibetan mystery and Jesus’ ping all sound like Saintly 16 for Sundar Singh!
(With respect to John Cabot. And blessed Cuthbert. And most of Celtic Christianity)
I have been attracted to Eastern writings, meditation and yoga asanas. The east has much to teach the West. My vote is for Sunday.
You left us hanging! I have to find out more. Sundar Singh it is!
Did not get an email this morning
I cast my vote against the prevailing winds, because Sundar is going to win this one. However, one must try! Theodore of Tarsus was a brilliant choice of Pope Vitalian for Archbishop of Canterbury because England in his time was torn between the factions of Roman and Celtic practice. The English church has always struggled between these 2 polar opposites of Christian practice, and by bringing in an archbishop who had ties to neither side, Vitalian paved the way for the medias res - the middle way that Anglicanism has always tried to follow.
Both of these saints filled a need they found and are both worthy individuals. My vote went to Sundar Singh because of his wisdom in realizing that the way to reach the people of his country was not by forcing them to conform to another's way of receiving the Gospel, but by showing them that Jesus brought the message that God's salvation is for everyone wherever they are.
Again I vote against the grain, favoring the solid foundation that was set over the modern construction that hides it from view.
Just pointing out I did not receive today’s email, but received Quiteria and Rose de Lima a second time.
Has the email been sent out yet? I forward it to 25 people in my parish. Thanks.
I’m voting for Singh today, though both are worthy. He reminds me of a summer chaplain at camp from Madras, India, the first person I met from India. I didn’t know of either of these saints until their write ups today.
As others have mentioned, I didn’t get the Lent Madness email today as I usually do. Maybe more energy’s being given to the new Instagram page, something I don’t have.
I am astonished! I was sure Theodor of Tarsus would be ahead. And I,too, voted for Sundar Singh. What great courage to persevere.
I didn’t receive an email this morning.
I got a resend of yesterday's email instead of today's matchup. Went to the site to find it. First time that's ever happened.
Lots fewer votes than there usually are at this time, and less than half as many comments. Are too many people discouraged because of the Quiteria-Rose pairing? I had never heard of Sundar Singh before, but his whole life reflects exactly how I feel about cultural diversity, institutional consumerism, and the reality of Jesus speaking to his people. How wonderful that he heard the prayer of a suicidal 14-year-old and set him on a better path! I wish Theodore of Tarsus had been up against a different opponent; I would happily have voted for someone who can bring community out of bitter division -- something we need so much today. Oh well, maybe he'll be back another year.
Someone who walked to Afghanistan and Tibet has my vote. I am guessing Sundar Singh was murdered. Perhaps he saw in Jesus a fellow critic of imperialism. Maybe Jesus answered his grief. But like Paul, he remained committed to his vision. Such figures are easy to dislike, but they are the fulcrum of the world.
No email from Lent Madness today??? Have to vote via Facebook.
No email today 🙁
Oh man! This is so exciting to me. Recently I became acquainted with Adam Buck, monastic contemplation. I have begun to read his most recent book and am enrolled in online class regarding contemplation and monasticism. This may sound like I am smart and am deep. I am not; however, I love to pray.
This morning I heard Tim and Scott’s Godchildren Fr. Christian and Fr. Michael speak! I then read the two profiles for today. What fascinated me is the men like Bede Griffthis
and Singh speaking of the Western Christianity being more focused on consumerism and colonialism. I agree! I am very materialistic. During this Lenten season I am focusing on judging and materialism. Singh does it for me and reinforces what Adam Bucko is discussing.
Certainly I hope to find a way to blend Eastern religion with my Western Episcopal worship, contemplation, and meditation. I am so grateful to Singh!
Sundar not only talked the talk, he walked the walk. I like that he did more than just talk.
A tough matchup today! Going to have to dwell before voting!
I truly admire Sundar Singh, but Theodore’s example of peaceful resolution is what I’m looking for today.
Voted for Theodore bec I love Canterbury, but glad to see Sundar Singh is leading. His story is amazing, his mission to his own people so valuable. The Victorian Raj - I just bet the English missionaries were *frightful*
I hope the email glitch gets fixed. Your poor bracket czar is having a bad year!
Did not get my match up today had to go look for it