Cosmas II Atticus ( el, ), (? – after 1147) was

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 the ...

from April 1146, until February 1147. He was born in

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island a ...

, in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

, and was a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

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 ...

before his ascension, after

Michael II Kourkouas Michael II Kourkouas (Oxeites) (Greek: Μιχαήλ Β΄ Κουρκούας), (? – after 1146) was an Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (July 1143 – March 1146). In early 1143 Patriarch Leo and Emperor John II Komnenos died wi ...

abdicated. He was highly respected for his learning and for his holy character.John Kinnamos. (1976). The Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, Columbia University Press, p. 56 Cosmas reigned during the rule of

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as l ...

Manuel I Comnenus Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor ...

Deposition

Cosmas was condemned and deposed on 26 February 1147 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 ...

held at the

Palace of Blachernae The Palace of Blachernae ( el, ). was an imperial Byzantine residence in the suburb of Blachernae, located in the northwestern section of Constantinople (today located in the quarter of Ayvansaray in Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey). The area of the pala ...

because of indulgence in relation to the

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

Niphon, a condemned

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 ...

since 1144, whom he received in his home and at his table. The exact reasons for the conviction and deposition of Cosmas II are not clearly established; perhaps he was the victim of political intrigue.Dimtri Obolensky A study in Balkan Neo-Manichaeism « Byzantine Bogomilism » Cambridge University Press 1948 p. 221–222 It is clear however that the Emperor Manuel intervened directly in forming the Synod that deposed Cosmas, interviewing personally those who accused him, and testing Cosmas directly on his opinions of the heretical Niphon. This affair is typical both of the doctrinal controversies common in the reign of Manuel I, and also of the Emperor's readiness to become actively involved in them.J.M. Hussey. (1986). The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire, Oxford University Press, p. 151

References

12th-century patriarchs of Constantinople People from Aegina Officials of Manuel I Komnenos {{EasternOrthodox-bishop-stub