Nicholas II Chrysoberges ( el, , ʻgolden wandʼ), (? – 16 December 991) was
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople ( Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of ...
[Richard P. H. Greenfield, Alice-Mary Maffry Talbot (2016). ''Holy Men of Mount Athos''. Harvard University Press.] from 984 to 991.
In 980, during the reign of Emperor
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
, when Nicholas Chrysoberges was Ecumenical Patriarch, the
Archangel Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...
was believed to have appeared in the guise of a monk to the disciple of a certain monk at the
Monastery of the Pantocrator in
Mount Athos. The monk reported that the angel sang a new verse of the matins hymn, recorded on a slate still held at the monastery. Nicholas received the relic in the cathedral of
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
. The ''
Axion Estin
''Axion estin'' (Greek: , Slavonic: Достóйно éсть, ''Dostóino yesť''), or It is Truly Meet, is a megalynarion and a theotokion, i.e. a magnification of and a Hymn to Mary used in the Divine Services of the Eastern Orthodox and ...
'' is still sung in Orthodox services.
Nicholas' tenure also saw the completion of the
Christianization of the Rus' and the appointment of the first metropolitan for Rus', Michael the Syrian.
Patriarch Nicholas was later canonized and is commemorated by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church on 16 December.
References
10th-century patriarchs of Constantinople
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