Theodotos I Kassiteras, Latinized as Theodotus I Cassiteras ( el, Θεόδοτος Α΄ Κασσιτερᾶς or Κασσιτηρᾶς; died January 821)

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 ...

from 1 April 815 to January 821.. Theodotos was born in

Nakoleia Nakoleia ( el, Νακώλεια and Νακόλεια) also known as Nakolaion (Νακώλαιον), Latinized as Nacolia or Nacolea, was an ancient and medieval city in Phrygia. It corresponds to present-day Seyitgazi, Eskişehir Province in th ...

, as the son of the ''

patrikios The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned aft ...

'' Michael Melissenos by the sister of Eudokia, the last wife of Emperor

Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...

. Theodotos had become attached to the court bureaucracy and was a confidant of Emperor

Michael I Rangabe Michael I Rhangabe ( gr, Μιχαὴλ Ῥαγγαβέ; ''c''. 770 – 11 January 844) was Byzantine emperor from 811 to 813. Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylact Rhangabe, the admiral of the Aegean fleet. He married Prokopia, th ...

. By the time Michael I was deposed by

Leo V the Armenian Leo V the Armenian ( gr, Λέων ὁ ἐξ Ἀρμενίας, ''Leōn ho ex Armenias''; 775 – 25 December 820) was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed ...

in 813, Theodotos was an elderly ''

spatharokandidatos ( gr, σπαθαροκανδιδᾶτος), Latinized as , was a mid-ranking Byzantine court dignity used in the 7th–11th centuries. History The title was created as a portmanteau of the titles and , both of which were types of palace guard ...

'', whom the near-contemporary

Scriptor Incertus ''Scriptor Incertus de Leone Armenio'' ("unknown writer on Leo the Armenian") is the conventional Latin designation given to the anonymous author of a 9th-century Byzantine historical work, of which only two fragments survive. The first fragment, ...

describes as "meek" and "uneducated". On 14 March 815, Leo forced the resignation of Patriarch Nikephoros I, and appointed the pro-iconoclast Theodotos Melissenos in his place. Later in 815, the new patriarch presided over a Church council in Constantinople, which overturned the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...

and reinstated the ban on the veneration of

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s, thus beginning the second period of

Byzantine Iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial a ...

. Much of the Iconoclast effort in the council was driven by other clerics, including the later Patriarchs Antony I and John VII. In the aftermath of this synod Theodotos is representing as torturing by starvation at more than one

iconodule Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from el, ε ...

abbot in an attempt to force them into agreement with his ecclesiastical policy. He ceases to be mentioned in the sources after the murder of Leo V and accession of Michael II the Amorian in December 820.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodotos 01 Of Constantinople 9th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Byzantine Iconoclasm Melissenos family