Constantine Chrysomalus (or Constantine Chrysomallus; el, Κωνσταντῖνος Χρυσόμαλλος) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

monk who was posthumously condemned by 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 meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mea ...

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 ( ...

as a teacher of heresies affiliated with

Bogomilism Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Pet ...

and

Messalianism The Euchites or Messalians were a Christian denomination, Christian sect from Mesopotamia that spread to Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and Thrace. The name 'Messalian' comes from the Syriac language, Syriac , ''mṣallyānā'', meaning 'one who pra ...

. Although Chrysomalus and his writings, ''the Golden Sermons'', had been accused of promoting

Bogomil Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Pe ...

teachings, his association with Bogomilism has been contested by later scholars.

Condemnation

At the time of his condemnation, Chrysomalus' works had attained great popularity in the monastery of St. Nicholas in Hieron (likely a naval base on the

Bosphoros The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

), where he had only recently died.Hamilton, Janet & Bernard Hamilton (eds.) ''Christian Dualist Heresies in the Byzantine World, c. 650-c. 1450: Selected Sources''. Pages 212-214. Manchester University Press, 1998. The

posthumous trial A posthumous trial or post-mortem trial is a trial held after the defendant's death. Posthumous trials can be held for a variety of reasons, including the legal declaration that the defendant was the one who committed the crime, to provide justice ...

was held at the church of St. Alexius in Constantinople in May 1140 under the authority of the patriarch

Leo Styppeiotes Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * '' Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts a ...

, and the record of the trial still exists.

Dimitri Obolensky Sir Dimitri Obolensky (19 March/1 April 1918, in St Petersburg – 23 December 2001) was a Russian-British historian who was Professor of Russian and Balkan History at the University of Oxford and the author of various historical works. Biogr ...

lists the heretical doctrines that the Synod attributed to Chrysomalus: The Synod claimed that Chrysomalus' replacement of the baptism with his own initiatory rite and the concept of two souls were signs of Bogomolism. This is disputed by Obolensky, who notes that the former was not exclusive to Bogomilism and that latter was generally associated elsewhere with Messalianism (a heresy also mentioned by the Synod). Also attributed to Chrysomalus were teachings associated with civil disobedience: that the reverence of worldly rulers is akin to paying homage to Satan and that temporal authority should be denounced. Although this is similar to some practices attributed to the Bogomils by

Cosmas the Priest Cosmas the Priest ( bg, Презвитер Козма, ''Prezviter Kozma''), also known as Cosmas the Presbyter or Presbyter Cosmas, was a medieval Bulgarian priest and writer. Cosmas is most famous for his anti- Bogomil treatise ''Sermon Agains ...

, it is not possible to establish a definite connection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chrysomalus, Constantine 12th-century Byzantine writers 12th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians 12th-century Christian mystics Byzantine clergy Byzantine theologians Eastern Orthodox mystics