diff --git a/lib/ace/virtual_renderer.js b/lib/ace/virtual_renderer.js
index 5f14bc14..b2331de4 100644
--- a/lib/ace/virtual_renderer.js
+++ b/lib/ace/virtual_renderer.js
@@ -104,7 +104,6 @@ var VirtualRenderer = function(container, theme) {
     this.$markerFront = new MarkerLayer(this.content);
 
     this.$cursorLayer = new CursorLayer(this.content);
-    this.$cursorPadding = 8;
 
     // Indicates whether the horizontal scrollbar is visible
     this.$horizScroll = false;
@@ -1324,18 +1323,19 @@ var VirtualRenderer = function(container, theme) {
                 _self.container.ownerDocument
             );
 
-            if (_self.$theme)
-                dom.removeCssClass(_self.container, _self.$theme);
+            if (_self.theme)
+                dom.removeCssClass(_self.container, _self.theme.cssClass);
 
-            _self.$theme = theme ? theme.cssClass : null;
+            // this is kept only for backwards compatibility
+            _self.$theme = theme.cssClass;
 
-            if (_self.$theme)
-                dom.addCssClass(_self.container, _self.$theme);
+            _self.theme = theme;
+            dom.addCssClass(_self.container, theme.cssClass);
+            dom.setCssClass(_self.container, "ace_dark", theme.isDark);
 
-            if (theme && theme.isDark)
-                dom.addCssClass(_self.container, "ace_dark");
-            else
-                dom.removeCssClass(_self.container, "ace_dark");
+            var padding = theme.padding || 4;
+            if (_self.$padding && padding != _self.$padding)
+                _self.setPadding(padding);
 
             // force re-measure of the gutter width
             if (_self.$size) {