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{{Short description|Swiss German surname}}

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The surname '''''Yoder''''' is an ancienta surname firstof associated[[Swiss withGerman]] the Cantonorigin of Bernwhich inthe Switzerland. The first recorded use in 1260 and uses common Swissoriginal spelling ofis "Joder". It originated The surname is a shortened version of Theodorus,from the name[[Canton of the first Roman Catholic bishop of SionBern]] in present day [[Martigny, Switzerland]]. TheodorusThe —name whodates isback alsoto knownat asleast St. Theodore of Grammont1260, St.and Theodule,is anda St.shortened Joderversion — isof the patron saint ofname [[Triesenberg]],Theodore [[Liechtenstein(disambiguation)|Theodore]].

[[Saint Yoder]] (died {{circa|400}}) is a patron saint of [[Valais]], probably the first [[Bishop of Sion|bishop of Octodurum]].

==Etymology==

The surname Yoder is derived from the name Theodorus. [[University of Notre Dame]] theologian [[John Howard Yoder]] has explained step-by-step how the evolution from Theodorus to Yoder was the result of simple, normal changes in pronunciation. The surname Yoder probably developed from the name Sanctus Theodorus in the following sequence: (1) Sanctus Theodorus; (2) Sanctus Tjordorus; (3) Sankt Tjoder; (4) Sant Tjoder; (5) Sant Joder; (6) (Saint) Yoder

The name Joder is most common in Switzerland and is widespread there. In the United States, the leap from "Joder" to "Yoder" was natural because the English spelling of the latter name phonetically reflects the German pronunciation of the name.

==Saint Theodorus==

Theodorus was a 4th-century missionary-monk who crossed the Alps from Italy to establish a Catholic outpost in the [[Valais]] region of southern [[Switzerland]].

===Legend===

According to a well-circulated legend, in 350 while in [[Agaunum]], Theodorus found the bones of [[Saint Maurice]] and the legendary [[Theban legion]]. Theodorus is said to have then built a [[basilica]] on the land where the bones were found. Around the year 515, the site was later converted to a [[monastery]] after the surrounding land was donated by [[Sigismund of Burgundy|Sigismund]]. The monastery is now known as [[Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune|Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune]].

According to [[hagiography|hagiographical]] material, the Theban legion was entirely composed of [[Christians]]. It had been called from [[Thebes (Egypt)|Thebes]] in [[Egypt]] to assist [[Maximian]] in [[Gaul]] in modern day [[France]]. However, when Maximian ordered the legion to sacrifice to the Emperor and to suppress Christianity in Gaul, they refused. Subsequently, Maximian ordered the unit punished. Every tenth soldier was killed, a military punishment known as [[Decimation (Roman Army)|decimation]]. More orders followed, but the legion still refused to comply, and a second decimation was ordered. Because after the second decimation the legion still refused to use [[violence]] against fellow Christians, Maximian ordered all the remaining members of the unit executed.

Some historians suggest that the story of Maurice and the Theban legion was a pious fabrication created by either by Theodorus or [[Eucherius, bishop of Lyon]]. It is known that Eucherius cited Theodorus as his source for the story of the Theban legion. Eucherius used the story to encourage his contemporary Christians serving in the Roman army to ignore the orders of their [[paganism|pagan]] superiors and instead side with the Christians. The dissemination of the story was successful in drawing pilgrims to [[Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune|Abbey of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune]]. The institution was created ''[[ex nihilo]]'' from 515 onwards by [[Sigismund of Burgundy|Sigismund]], the first Catholic king of the [[Burgundians]]. The abbey was unique in its time as the creation of a king working in concord with bishops, rather than an organic development that occurred around the central figure of a holy monk. The new abbey was without a doubt strengthened by the strong founding legend.

===Documentation===

Records indicate Theodorus was appointed to be the [[Bishop of Sion|bishop of Octodurum]] in present day [[Martigny, Switzerland]]. He is known to have participated in the [[council of Aquileia, 381|Council of Aquileia]] in 381, his presence being preserved on the attendance list as "Theodorus Episcopus Octodorensis." Theodorus was also one of the signatories of a letter addressed by the [[Synod of Milan]] to [[Pope Siricius]] early in 390, informing him of their condemnation of the monk [[Jovinian]] and his followers.

In the 6th century Octodurus became unsafe because of massive migrations. As a result, the bishop's seat was moved to the fortified town of [[Sion, Switzerland]]. The bones of Theodorus were transported to the new site and later exhibited in a burial niche. This burial niche, an arched grave similar to a [[sarcophagus]], was rediscovered in the early 1960s by excavations in the [[crypt]] under Saint Theodorus's Church in Sion.

Centuries after his death, many relics of Theodorus wound up in the fortified Valeria Church in Switzerland. Unfortunately, they were lost to the plundering of French troops during the [[French Revolution]].

===Popularity===

Although Theodorus was a popular figure in life, for a time his legend grew in death, especially during the Middle Ages in Switzerland and the [[Savoy]] region of [[France]].

In the 8th century, German-speaking [[Walser]]s who had migrated into the [[canton of Valais]] in Switzerland were particularly devoted to the saint. In the 13th century when many Walsers left the Wallis region and spread to [[Italy]], [[Liechtenstein]], and [[Austria]], they took the legend of Theodorus with them. They dedicated altars and bells to him, founded eternal seasons in his honor, and erected statues of him.

Today the adoration of Theodorus is found not only in the [[canton of Valais]] and among the Walsers but in the rest of Switzerland and throughout northern Italy, France, southern Germany, Liechtenstein, and Austria. The festival of Saint Theodorus is celebrated in parts of [[Europe]] on August 16.

In 1981, a postage stamp was issued by Liechtenstein to commemorate the 1600 year anniversary of Theodorus's appointment to the post of bishop. The horizontal stamp depicts a sculpture of Theodorus from the parish church of Laterns. The approximately 500-year-old sculpture is thought to be among the most beautiful visual images of the saint. The stamp was designed by Bruno Kaufmann and Walter Wachter.

==Origin of the surname==

''JoderhuebelJodershubel''—German — German for "''Yoder Hill"—is'' — is a natural fortresshill on the [[Emme River]] in the Swiss [[Canton of BerneBern]]. German researcher Karl Joder of [[Ludwigshafen am Rhein]] believes that the Yoder family was established in the region surrounding the hill before recorded history. The oldest known documentation of the Yoder family is a 1260 record of the birth of a Peter Joder in ''Joderhuebel. Thus, the first Yoders emerged between the start of Theodorus's reign near 381 and 1260 when the earliest records document the existence of a Yoder'.

In about 1385, a Heini Joder moved to [[Steffisburg, Switzerland]], which is in the southern part of the [[Emmental]]. Yoders lived in Steffisburg for approximately eleven generations before they joined the politically subversive [[Anabaptists]]. In 1531, records show that a Heini Joder was imprisoned at [[Basel]] for spreading [[Anabaptist]] doctrine.

==Diaspora==

Yoders were a part of thea greatlarger German [[Historical migration|migration]] to America between 1650 and 1730. When the [[Quaker]] [[William Penn]] established the colony of [[Pennsylvania]], he opened it to all religious faiths, allowing complete religious freedom and worship. He sent agents into the [[Rhine|Rhine Valley]] and the [[Rhineland-Palatinate]] announcing the opportunities for settlement in his colony and assuring emigrants they would be allowed freedom of worship. Germans of all faiths came to the new colony by the thousands. They found their way down the [[Rhine River]] to [[Rotterdam]], the great [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] port, and embarked on slow sailing boats for [[Philadelphia]]. Between 1700 and 1775 more than sixty thousand Germans came to America. Some ethnic Germans from the Duchy of Baden, Alsace (Elsass) and Switzerland also left Europe at French ports like [[Le Havre]].

After taking the oath of allegiance to the English Crown, the Germans spread out into the area of southeastern Pennsylvania, looking for good land and places to make their new homes. They settled first in what are now [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Bucks]], [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery]], [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester]], [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]], and [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks]] Counties. ManyToday, YodersYoder wereis a common surname among thesethe early[[Amish]] Germanand pioneers[[Mennonites]].

Yoder is a very common surname among the [[Amish]] and [[Mennonites]].

Yoder is the name of a town on Colorado's dusty and sparsely populated Eastern plains. It was traditionally a Mennonite community.

==References==

{{reflist}}

<references />

== External links ==

{{wiktionary}}

* [http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/maurorig.html The Origin of the Cult of St. Maurice]

* [http://www.bibleprobe.com/theban.html The Roman Theban Legion]

* [http://www.yodernewsletter.org The Yoder Newsletter, established 1983]

{{Amish}}

[[Category:Amish]]