Cyriacus II of Constantinople (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: Κυριακός; died 29 October 606) was

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 ...

(596–606). He was previously presbyter and steward, ''

oikonomos ''Oikonomos'' (, from - 'house' and - 'rule, law'), Latinization of names, Latinized œconomus, oeconomus, or economos, was an Ancient Greek word meaning "household manager." In Byzantine Empire, Byzantine times, the term was used as a title of ...

'', of the great church at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(''

Chronicon Paschale ''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name com ...

'', p. 378).

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Ro ...

received the legates bearing the synodal letters which announced his consecration, partly from a desire not to disturb the peace of the church, and partly from the personal respect which he entertained for Cyriacus II; but in his reply he warned him against the sin of causing divisions in the church, clearly alluding to the use of the term oecumenical bishop, which Gregory I interpreted as meaning "universal" or even "exclusive" bishop (Gregory I, Ep. lib., vii, 4,

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

, lxxvii, 853). The personal feelings of Gregory I towards Cyriacus II appear most friendly. Cyriacus II did not attend to Gregory I's entreaties that he abstain from using the title, for Gregory I wrote afterwards both to him and to the Emperor Maurice, declaring that he could not allow his legates to remain in communion with Cyriacus II as long as he retained it. In the latter of these letters, he compares the assumption of the title to the sin of

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

, since both exhibit a spirit of lawless pride. "Quisquis se universalem sacerdotem vocat, vel vocari desiderat, in elatione sua Antichristum praecurrit" (whosoever calls himself universal priest, or desires to be called so, is the forerunner of the Antichrist) (Gregory I, Ep. 28, 30). In a letter to

Anastasius I of Antioch Anastasius I of Antioch was the Patriarch of Antioch twice (561–571 and 593–599). Alban Butler calls him "a man of singular learning and piety". He was a friend of Pope Gregory I, and aroused the enmity of the Emperor Justinian by opposing ...

, who had written to him to remonstrate against disturbing the peace of the church, Gregory defends his conduct on the ground of the injury which Cyriac had done to all other patriarchs by the assumption of the title and reminds Anastasius I that not only heretics but heresiarchs had before this been patriarchs of Constantinople. He also deprecates the use of the term on more general grounds (Ep. 24). In spite of all this Cyriacus II was firm in his retention of the title, and appears to have summoned, or to have meditated summoning, a council to authorise its use. For in 599, Gregory wrote to Eusebius of Thessalonica and some other bishops, stating that he had heard they were about to be summoned to a council at Constantinople, and most urgently entreating them to yield neither to force nor to persuasion, but to be steadfast in their refusal to recognize the offensive title (ib. lib. ix, 68 in Patrologia Latina). Cyriacus II appears to have shared in that unpopularity of the emperor Maurice which caused his deposition and death (

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor (; 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second C ...

, ''Chronicle'', A. M. 6094; Niceph. Callis., H. E., xviii, 40; Theophylact. Hist. viii, 9). He still, however, had influence enough to exact from Emperor

Phocas Phocas (; ; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially a middle-ranking officer in the East Roman army, Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers in their disputes with the cour ...

at his coronation a confession of the orthodox faith and a pledge not to disturb the church (Theophanes ''Chronicle'', A. M. 6094). He also nobly resisted the attempt of Phocas to drag the empress

Constantina Flavia Valeria Constantina (also sometimes called ''Constantia'' and ''Constantiana''; ; b. after 307/before 317 – d. 354), later known as Saint Constance, was the eldest daughter of Roman emperor Constantine the Great and his second wife Faust ...

and her daughters from their sanctuary in a church of Constantinople (''ibid''., A. M. 6098). Perhaps some resentment at this opposition to his will may have induced Phocas to accede more readily to the claims of

Pope Boniface III Pope Boniface III () was the bishop of Rome from 19 February 607 to his death on 12 November of the same year. Despite his short pontificate, he made a significant contribution to the Catholic Church. Early career The son of Iohannes (John) Ca ...

that Rome should be considered to be the head of all the church, in exclusion of the claims of Constantinople to the oecumenical bishopric (''Vita Bonifacii III'', in

Philippe Labbe Philippe Labbe (; 10 July 1607 – 16 or 17 March 1667) was a French Jesuit writer on historical, geographical and philological questions. Born in Bourges, he entered the Society of Jesus on 28 September 1623, at the age of 16. A ...

, ''Acta Concil'', t. v. 1615). Cyriacus II died in 606 and was interred in the

church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles (, ''Agioi Apostoloi''; ), also known as the Imperial Polyandrion (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The first structure dated to ...

(''Chronicon Paschale'', p. 381). He appears to have been a man of remarkable piety and earnestness, able to win the esteem of all parties. He built a church dedicated to the ''

theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

'' in a street of Constantinople called Diaconissa (Theophanes ''Chronicle'', A. M. 6090; Niceph. Callis., H. E., xviii, 42).

Notes and references

Attribution

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cyriacus 02 Of Constantinople, Patriarch 606 deaths Burials at the Church of the Holy Apostles 6th-century patriarchs of Constantinople 7th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Year of birth unknown