Callistus I of Constantinople (; died August 1363) was the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

for two periods from June 1350 to 1353 and from 1354 to 1363. Callistus I was an Athonite monk and supporter of

Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas (; ; – 1357/1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessalonica, he is famous for his defense of hesyc ...

. He died in Constantinople in August 1363.

Life

Nothing is known of Callistus' early life. He was a disciple of

and Gregory of Sinai. He lived at

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

for 28 years and was a monk at the Skete of Magoula near Philotheou Monastery at Mount Athos. In his "''Hagiography of Gregory of Sinai''", he mentions two devotees, Jakov of Serres and Romylos of Vidin, then living and writing in Serbia. He also founded the Monastery of Saint Mamas at

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos''; ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...

, a small island near the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

Patriarchate

Callistus was elected to the throne of the see of Constantinople on 10 June 1350, succeeding

Isidore I of Constantinople Isidore I of Constantinople (; died February or March 1350) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1347 to 1350. Isidore was a disciple of Gregory Palamas. Early life Isidore was an ethnic Greek born in Thessaloniki during the la ...

. In 1351, he convened a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

in Constantinople that finally established the Orthodoxy of

Hesychasm Hesychasm () is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Christian traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in ...

. Callistus I and the ecumenical patriarchs who succeeded him mounted a vigorous campaign to have the Palamite doctrine accepted by the other Eastern patriarchates as well as all the metropolitan sees under their jurisdiction. However, it took some time to overcome initial resistance to the doctrine. One example of resistance was the response of the Metropolitan of Kyiv who, upon receiving tomes from Kallistos that expounded the Palamist doctrine, rejected the new doctrine vehemently and composed a reply refuting it. According to Martin Jugie, contemporary historians depict Callistus I as a "doctrinaire and brutal man whose persecuting zeal it was necessary to restrain". In 1353, Callistus I refused to crown Matthew Kantakouzenos, son of emperor

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene (; ; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under Andronikos III Palaiologos and regent for John V Palaiologos before reigning as Byza ...

, as emperor with his father and, as a result, was deposed. After his deposition, Callistus I returned to Mount Athos. In 1354, after John VI abdicated, Callistus I returned as patriarch. After his return, Callistus I worked to strengthen the administration of the Patriarchate. He reorganized the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

system of churches under the surveillance of a patriarchal

exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'') was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and early Byzantine Empire, ...

. He also strove to strengthen patriarchal control over various Orthodox church jurisdictions, even to the extent of excommunicating

Stefan Dušan Stephen (honorific), Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан), also known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Силни; – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Emperor of th ...

, for establishing the Serbian archbishop as an independent patriarch. In 1355, Callistus I wrote to the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

of Trnovo that those Latins who had baptised by single immersion should be re-baptised. He called the baptism by one immersion most improper and full of impiety. His view was based on the Apostolic canons which clearly state that those baptised by one immersion are not baptised and should be re-baptised.

Death

Callistus I died in August 1363 while he was en route to

Serres Serres ( ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northern Greece. The c ...

as a member of the embassy of emperor

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. His long reign was marked by constant civil war, the spread of the Black Death and several military defea ...

seeking aid from

Helena of Bulgaria, Empress of Serbia Helena of Bulgaria (, ; –7 November 1374) was a Bulgarian princess, and the Queen and Empress consort of Serbia by marriage to Serbian King and later Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55). She was a regent of Serbia in 1355 and 1356 for her ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. While Callistus I was Patriarch, he once passed through

on his way to

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and met Maximos of Kafsokalyvia, who greeted the Patriarch in a humorous manner, "This old man will never see his old lady again". This turned out to be a prophecy of how Callistus I would never see Constantinople ("his old lady") again, since he would die before being able to return there. Maximos then bid farewell to Callistus I by chanting, "Blessed are the blameless in the way" (from

Psalm 118 Psalm 118 is the 118th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever." The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Ta ...

, a funeral psalm). Callistus I subsequently journeyed on to Serbia, where he then died. (Note that the "Callistus I" in this account is often confused with Callistus II of Constantinople, who reigned as Patriarch in 1397, after the death of Maximos of Kafsokalyvia.)

Works

With another monk, Ignatius Xanthopoulos, with whom he had developed a life-long friendship at Mount Athos, Callistus I composed the important ''Century'', a tract of 100 sections on the ascetical practices of the Hesychastic monks; it was incorporated in the ''

Philokalia The ''Philokalia'' (, from ''philia'' "love" and ''kallos'' "beauty") is "a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters" of the mystical hesychast tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church. They were or ...

'' of Nicodemus the Hagiorite and had a great influence on Orthodox spirituality. In the ''Philokalia'', the full title of the work is ''An exact rule and method with God's help for those who choose to live as hesychasts and monastics by the monks Kallistos and Ignatios Xanthopoulos, including testimonies from the saints''. Callistus I wrote the life of his teacher Gregory of Sinai probably around 1351. The date of composition is suggested by the editor based on the references to Callistus I's clash with

Nicephorus Gregoras Nicephorus Gregoras (; Greek: , ''Nikēphoros Grēgoras''; c. 1295 – 1360) was a Byzantine Greek astronomer, historian, and theologian. His 37-volume ''Roman History'', a work of erudition, constitutes a primary documentary source for th ...

at the final Palamite council.

Notes and references

Bibliography