Domnus II of Antioch was the

Patriarch of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

(441 – 449), nephew of

John I of Antioch John I of Antioch was Patriarch of Antioch (429 – 441). He led a group of moderate Eastern bishops during the Nestorian controversy. He is sometimes confused with John Chrysostom, who is occasionally also referred to as ''John of Antioch'', tho ...

, and friend of the influential

Theodoret of Cyrrhus Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus (; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pivotal role in several 5th-century Byzantine ...

Biography

Domnus was ordained

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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

by the Patriarch

Juvenal of Jerusalem Saint Juvenal () was Bishop of Jerusalem from 422. On the See of Jerusalem being recognised as a Metropolitinate by the Council of Chalcedon, he became the first Metropolitan of Jerusalem, an office he occupied until his death in 458. His juris ...

in 429 and remained at the Monastery of St. Euthymius in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

for two years. In 431, he left the monastery to aid his uncle, Patriarch John I of Antioch, as part of the

Nestorian controversy Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...

. Domnus went to

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

to support proponents of the

School of Antioch The Catechetical School of Antioch was one of the two major Christian centers of the study of biblical exegesis and theology during Late Antiquity; the other was the Catechetical School of Alexandria, School of Alexandria. This group was known by ...

in favour of Nestorianism against supporters of

Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major epi ...

Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria (; or ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ; 376–444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire ...

and his successor Dioscurus I. In 441, upon the death of his uncle, Domnus was elected successor with support he had acquired in Antioch. In 445, he summoned a synod of Syrian bishops and confirmed the deposition of Athanasius of Perrha. In 447, Domnus II consecrated Irenaeus to the see of Tyre (Theodoret, ''Epistle'' 110); but emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

, commanded that the appointment should be annulled on the grounds that Irenaeus was both a ''digamus'' and a supporter of

Nestorianism Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinary, doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian t ...

- Iranaeus had formerly been a Roman count and friend of Nestorius at

Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...

, having helped protect him. Moreover, Domnus II defended

Ibas The Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS), founded in 1998, is a third party organisation that settles disputes between gambling establishments registered with IBAS and their customers in the United Kingdom. The organisation, which wa ...

, bishop of

Edessa Edessa (; ) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Sel ...

, against charges of promulgating Nestorian doctrines, and summoned a council at Antioch (448) which decided in favor of Ibas and deposed his accusers. Domnus II's sentence, though revoked by Flavian,

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

, was confirmed by three episcopal commissioners to whom he and the emperor Theodosius II had committed the matter. As a result, he was deposed at the

Second Council of Ephesus The Second Council of Ephesus was a Christological church synod in 449 convened by Emperor Theodosius II under the presidency of Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria. It was intended to be an ecumenical council, and it is accepted by the miaphysit ...

on 8 August 449. Cowed by the authoritarian spirit of

Dioscorus 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 ...

, and unnerved by the violence of Barsumas and his monks, Domnus II revoked his former condemnation of

Eutyches Eutyches (; c. 375–454) or Eutyches of Constantinople

, and voted for the condemnation of

Flavian of Constantinople Flavian of Constantinople (; , ''Phlabianos''; 11 August 449), sometimes ''Flavian I'', was Archbishop of Constantinople from 446 to 449. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Consecrat ...

, but in vain. He was the only bishop then deposed and banished who was not reinstated after the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

– though this may have been by request so he could retire to his beloved monastery. At that council

Maximus II of Antioch Maximus II of Antioch was a Patriarch of Antioch. After the deposition of Domnus II of Antioch by the Second Council of Ephesus, in 449, Dioscorus I of Alexandria persuaded the emperor Theodosius II to fill the vacancy with one of the clergy o ...

, his successor in the see of Antioch, obtained permission to assign Domnus II a pension from the revenues of the church, and on his recall from exile Domnus II returned to the monastic home of his youth, ending his days in the Monastery of St. Euthymius, where in 452, according to

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 ...

, he afforded a refuge to

when he was driven from his see (Theophanes, p. 92).

Notes and references

Bibliography

*
A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D., with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies
' by Henry Wace. {{DEFAULTSORT:Domnus II Of Antioch Patriarchs of Antioch 5th-century Byzantine bishops 5th-century archbishops Nestorians