Anatolius (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Ανατόλιος, ? – 3 July 458) was a Patriarch of Constantinople (451 – 3 July 458). He is regarded as a saint, by both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.

Life

Anatolius was born at Alexandria. He was ordained a deacon by Cyril of Alexandria, and was present at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in the year 431."St Anatolius the Patriarch of Constantinople", Orthodox Church in America
/ref> He became Patriarch through the influence of

Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria Dioscorus I (), also known as Dioscorus the Great, was the pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark who was deposed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. He was recognized as patriarch by the Coptic Church until his death. He die ...

with Emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

, after the deposition of Flavian by the Second Council of Ephesus, having previously been the

apocrisiarius An ''apocrisiarius'', the Latinized form of ''apokrisiarios'' ( el, ), sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The corresponding (purist) Latin term was ''respons ...

or representative of Dioscorus with the emperor at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. After his consecration, being under suspicion of

Eutychianism Eutychianism, also known as Real Monophysitism, refers to a set of Christian theological doctrines derived from the ideas of Eutyches of Constantinople (c. 380 – c. 456). Eutychianism is a monophysite understanding of how the human and divine ...

, Anatolius publicly condemned the teachings not only of Eutyches, but also those of

Nestorius Nestorius (; in grc, Νεστόριος; 386 – 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as contr ...

, subscribing to the letters of Cyril against Nestorius and of Pope Leo I against Eutyches. In conjunction with Pope Leo, according to Zonaras (''Annals'' iii), he requested that the Emperor Marcian summon a general council against Dioscorus and the Eutychians, but the Imperial letter instructing Anatolius in the preparations for the Council of Chalcedon only mentions Pope Leo ( Philippe Labbe, ''Conc. Max. Tom.'' iv.). In this council Anatolius presided in conjunction with the Roman legates (Labbe, Conc. Max. iv.; Evagr. H. E. ii. 4, 18; Niceph. H. E. xv. 18). By the famous 28th canon, passed at the conclusion of the council, Constantinople was made equal in dignity with Rome, "second in eminence and power to the Bishop of Rome." This displaced the traditional order of authority of the much older sees of Antioch and Alexandria. Hence arose the controversy between Anatolius and the Roman pontiff. However, the third canon of the earlier

First Council of Constantinople The First Council of Constantinople ( la, Concilium Constantinopolitanum; grc-gre, Σύνοδος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 b ...

of 381 stated that "The Bishop of Constantinople, however, shall have the prerogative of honour after the Bishop of Rome because

New Rome New Rome (Greek: Νέα Ῥώμη, ''Nea Rhomē''; ; Latin: ''Nova Roma''; ) was the original name given by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great in 330 CE to his new imperial capital, which was built as an expansion of the city of Byzantium o ...

." The Eastern position could be characterized as being political in nature, as opposed to a doctrinal view. Leo complained to Marcian (Ep. 54) and to Pulcheria (Ep. 55) that Anatolius had outstepped his jurisdiction by consecrating

Maximinus II Galerius Valerius Maximinus, born as Daza (20 November 270 – July 313), was Roman emperor from 310 to 313 CE. He became embroiled in the Civil wars of the Tetrarchy between rival claimants for control of the empire, in which he was defeate ...

as Patriarch of Antioch, as well as protesting to Anatolius (Ep. 53). Following the council of Chalcedon, Anatolius received a letter signed by several Egyptian bishops, asking his assistance against Timothy, who was usurping the Patriarch of Alexandria (Labbe, Conc. Max. iv. iii. 23, p. 897), as a result Anatolius wrote to the emperor Leo against Timothy (Labbe, iii. 26, p. 905). The circular of the emperor requesting the advice of Anatolius on the turbulent state of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

is given by Evagrius (H. E. ii. 9), and by Nicephorus (H. E. xv. 18). Edward Gibbon states that the crowning of Leo on his accession by Anatolius is the first instance of the kind on record ( Theophanes, ''Chronicle'' p. 95). When he was in danger of death he was restored to health by

Daniel the Stylite Saint Daniel the Stylite ( el, Δανιὴλ ὁ στυλίτης, c. 409 – 493) is a Saint and stylite of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. He is commemorated on 11 December according to the liturgical calenda ...

, who came to Constantinople to see him. The followers of Dioscorus are said to have killed him in 458.Campbell, Thomas. "St. Anatolius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 17 Mar. 2015
/ref> Anatolius was credited with composing a few

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s.Strong, James and McClintock, John. ''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. Harper and Brothers; NY; 1880
/ref>

References

;Attribution

Bibliography

* *"Lives of the Saints," Omer Englebert, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994, pp 532, (casebound)

External links

''St Anatolius, Patriarch of Constantinople''
Orthodox icon and synaxarion
Christian Classics Ethereal Library: ''Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D., with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anatolius Of Constantinople 4th-century births 458 deaths 5th-century Egyptian people 5th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Byzantine hymnographers 5th-century Archbishops of Constantinople