Theodore Stratelates
There is some doubt whether this first patron of Venice was St Theodore of Amasea or St Theodore Stratelates, but Otto Demus in 1960, in his authoritative book "The Church of San Marco in Venice", stated positively that he was St Theodore Stratelates of Heraclea, and he is followed in this by Fenlon. However, in his later book on the "Mosaics of San Marco" (1984), Otto Demus points out that none of the 12th-century mosaics which show St Theodore mentions more than his name, and it is suggested that he may have become the patron of the city before the two saints were distinguished. In fact the Venetians never appear to have made any distinction between the different St Theodores. None of the mosaics in St Mark's Basilica (in Venice) show him in military dress.