Methodius I of Constantinople or ''Methodios I'' (; 788/800 – 14 June 847) 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 ...

from 11 March 843 to 14 June 847. He was born in

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

and died in

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 ...

. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is celebrated on June 14 in both the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

Life

MadridSkylitzesMethodiosTheophilosFol56r

Born to wealthy parents, Methodius was sent as a young man to Constantinople to continue his education and hopefully attain an appointment at court. But instead, he entered a monastery in

Bithynia Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...

, eventually becoming

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Adrian Fortescue Adrian Henry Timothy Knottesford Fortescue (14 January 1874 – 11 February 1923) was an Catholic Church in England and Wales, English Catholic priest and polymath. An influential liturgist, artist, calligrapher, composer, Polyglot (person ...

"Methodius I"
''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'', Vol. 9, New York, Robert Appleton Company, 1910 Under Emperor

Leo V the Armenian Leo V the Armenian (, ''Léōn ho Arménios''; 775 – 25 December 820) was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. He is chiefly remembered for ending the decade-long war with the First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgars, as well as initiating the second ...

(813–820) the Iconoclast persecution broke out for the second time. In 815 Methodius went to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, perhaps as an envoy of the deposed Patriarch

Nicephorus I of Constantinople Nikephoros I (; – 5 April 828) was a Byzantine writer and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 12 April 806 to 13 March 815. Life He was born in Constantinople as the son of Theodore and Eudokia, of a strictly Orthodox family, whi ...

. Upon his return in 821 he was arrested and exiled as an

iconodule Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from – '' ...

by the Iconoclast regime of Emperor

Michael II Michael II (, ; 770 – 2 October 829), called the Amorian (, ) and the Stammerer (, or , ), reigned as Byzantine emperor from 25 December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, the first ruler of the Amorian dynasty. Born in Amorium, Michael was ...

. In 828 Michael II, not long before his death, mitigated the persecution and proclaimed a general amnesty. Methodius returned to Constantinople. Michael II was succeeded by his son, Theophilos, who followed his father's policies. Methodius was again arrested and imprisoned. He escaped and was hidden by friends. Seeing that Methodius was not to be overcome by punishment, the emperor tried to convince him by argument. The result of their discussion was that Methodius to some extent persuaded the emperor. At any rate towards the end of the reign, the persecution was mitigated. Theophilos died in 842. Soon after the death of the emperor, in 843, the influential minister

Theoktistos Theoktistos or Theoctistus (; died 20 November 855) was a leading Byzantine official during the second quarter of the 9th century and the ''de facto'' head of the regency for the underage emperor Michael III from 842 until his dismissal and ...

convinced the Empress Mother Theodora, as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for her two-year-old son

Michael III Michael III (; 9/10 January 840 – 24 September 867), also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian dynasty, Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty. He ...

, to permit the restoration of

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

s. He then deposed the iconoclast Patriarch

John VII of Constantinople John VII of Constantinople, surnamed ''Grammatikos'' or ''Grammaticus'', i.e., "''the Grammarian''" (; died before 867), was list of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 21 January 837 to 4 March ...

and secured the appointment of Methodius as his successor, bringing about the end of the iconoclast controversy. A week after his appointment and after the

Council of Constantinople (843) The Council of Constantinople of 843 or the Synod of Constantinople of 843 was a local council (as opposed to an ecumenical council) of Christian bishops that was convened in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 843 by the Byzantine ...

, accompanied by Theodora, Michael III, and Theoktistos, Methodius I made a triumphal procession from the church of Blachernae to

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 ...

on 11 March 843, restoring the icons to the church. This heralded the restoration of Christian orthodoxy, and became a holiday in the Byzantine Church, celebrated every year on the First Sunday of

Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast (Greek language, Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, ''Megali Tessarakosti'' or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, ''Megali Nisteia'', meaning "Great 40 Days", and "Great Fast", respectively), is the most impor ...

, and known as the "

Triumph of Orthodoxy The Feast of Orthodoxy (or Sunday of Orthodoxy or Triumph of Orthodoxy) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and other churches using the Byzantine Rite to commemorate, originally, only the final defeat ...

".'' Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions'', January 2000, p. 231 . The final years of the saint passed peacefully, he toiled much, wisely guided the Church and his flock."Saint Methodius the Patriarch of Constantinople"
Orthodox Church in America. Throughout his short patriarchate, Methodius I tried to pursue a moderate line of accommodation with members of the clergy who were formerly iconoclasts. Methodius I was well-educated, engaged in both copying and writing of manuscripts. His individual works included polemica, hagiographical and liturgical works, sermons and poetry.

Notes and references

Attribution

Bibliography

* ''The

Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium The ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (ODB) is a three-volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. With more than 5,000 entries, it contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzan ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Methodios 01 Of Constantinople 847 deaths People from Syracuse, Sicily Byzantine saints Byzantine Iconoclasm Byzantine saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Sicilian saints 9th-century patriarchs of Constantinople 9th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown

Life

Notes and references

Attribution

See also

Bibliography