Nicholas II of Constantinople (''Nicholas Chrysoberges'' ; died 16 December 991) 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 ...

Richard Greenfield, Alice-Mary Maffry Talbot (2016), ''Holy Men of Mount Athos'',

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

. from 980 to 991.

Life

In 980, during the reign of Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

, when Nicholas II was Ecumenical Patriarch, the

Archangel Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

was believed to have appeared in the guise of a monk to the disciple of a certain monk at the

Monastery of the Pantocrator A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

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 ...

. The monk reported that the angel sang a new verse of the matins hymn, recorded on a slate still held at the monastery. Nicholas II received the relic in the cathedral of

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

. The ''

Axion Estin ''Axion estin'' ( Greek: , Slavonic: Достóйно éсть, ''Dostóino yesť''), or It is Truly Meet, is a pair of hymns to the Virgin Mary used in the Divine Services of the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, consisting o ...

'' is still sung in Orthodox services. Nicholas II's tenure also saw the completion of the

Christianisation of Kievan Rus' The Christianization of Kievan Rus' was a long and complicated process that took place in several stages. In 867, Photios I of Constantinople, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople told other Christian patriarchs that the Rus' people were converti ...

and the appointment of the first metropolitan for Rus',

Michael I of Kiev Metropolitan Michael I of Kiev (; ; died 15 June 992) is considered to be the first Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' from 988 until his death. He was canonised as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church, being commemorated with a feast day on 15 J ...

. Patriarch Nicholas II was later canonised and is commemorated by both the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

on 16 December.

Notes and references

Notes

References

10th-century patriarchs of Constantinople 991 deaths 10th-century births {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub