His parentage is suggested by Nikephoros Bryennios who records that "uxor Andronici" was "genus a Samuele…Bulgarorum rege, e cuius filio Troianne nata ipsa erat". The primary source which confirms that he was the son of Tsar Ivan Vladislav, not Samuil, has not been identified.
The list of obituaries of the monastery of Christ Philanthropos, founded by Empress Eirene Doukas, records the death 19 May of "Theodorou pappou tis ayias despoines". As the list also names the empress's paternal grandfather, this must be her maternal grandfather, indicating that he had adopted the Greek name THEODOROS. 1