Nilus of Constantinople (; died 1 February 1388) 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 ...

between March/April 1380 and 1 February 1388. He was a

Hesychast Hesychasm () is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Christian traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in ...

Career

In 1380, he convened a synod to decide the metropolitanate of Moscow, choosing Bulgarian-born Hesychast Cyprian (1336–1406). In 1382,

Stephen of Perm Stephen of Perm (; ; – 26 April 1396) was a Russian Orthodox bishop, painter and missionary. He is known as being one of the most successful missionaries of the Russian Orthodox Church. Stephen is credited with the conversion of the Komi peopl ...

wrote a letter to Nilus concerning the Strigolniki schism.

Works

Nilus was a prolific writer in the religious sphere, including many

homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered e ...

and an

encomium ''Encomium'' (: ''encomia'') is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek ''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is '' laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something. Originally was the ...

Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas (; ; – 1357/1359) was a Byzantine Greek theologian and Eastern Orthodox cleric of the late Byzantine period. A monk of Mount Athos (modern Greece) and later archbishop of Thessalonica, he is famous for his defense of hesyc ...

. Nilus also wrote the Ekthesis Nea ("New Exposition"), a short treatise describing diplomatic modes of address in the Orthodox Church and with other Christian rulers, both secular and religious, in the 14th century.

Notes and references

14th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Hesychasts 1388 deaths {{Byzantine-bio-stub