Polyeuctus Of Constantinople
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Polyeuctus of Constantinople (; died 5 February 970) 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 ...
(956–970). His orthodox feast is on 5 February.


History

Polyeuctus was raised from being a simple monk to the Patriarchate in 956, as successor to the imperial prince
Theophylact Lekapenos Theophylact Lekapenos (; 917 – 27 February 956) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 2 February 933 to his death in 956. Theophylact was the youngest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos and his wife Theodora. Romanos I planned to mak ...
, and remained on the patriarchal throne in Constantinople until his death on 5 February 970. For his great mind, zeal for the Faith and power of oratory, he was called a "second
Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and po ...
". Although he was given his position by
Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...
, he did not show much loyalty to him. He began by questioning the legitimacy of Constantine's parents' marriage and then went as far as to restore the good name of Patriarch Euthymius I who had so vigorously opposed that union. The Russian Princess
Saint Olga Olga (; ; – 11 July 969) was a regent of Kievan Rus' for her son Sviatoslav from 945 until 957. Following her baptism, Olga took the name Elenа. She is known for her subjugation of the Drevlians, a tribe that had killed her husband Igor. E ...
came to Constantinople in the time of Patriarch Polyeuctus during the reign of Byzantine Emperor
Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...
and was baptised there in 957. The Patriarch baptised her, and the Emperor stood godfather. St Polyeuctus prophesied: "Blessed are you among Russian women, for you have loved light and cast off darkness; the sons of Russia will bless you to the last generation." He raised bishop Petrus of
Otranto Otranto (, , ; ; ; ; ) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). ...
(958) to the dignity of
metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...
, with the obligation to establish the Greek Rite throughout the province; the Latin Rite was introduced again after the Norman conquest, but the Greek Rite remained in use in several towns of the archdiocese and of its suffragans, until the 16th century. Although he had supported his rise to the throne, against the machinations of
Joseph Bringas Joseph Bringas () was an important Byzantine eunuch official in the reigns of Emperor Constantine VII (r. 945–959) and Emperor Romanos II (r. 959–963), serving as chief minister and effective regent during the latter. Having unsuccessfully oppos ...
, Polyeuctus
excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
Emperor
Nikephoros II Phokas Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless greatly contributed to the resurgence of t ...
for having married Theophano on the grounds that he had been the godfather to one or more of her sons. He had previously refused Nikephoras communion for a whole year for the sin of having contracted a second marriage after the death of his first wife. He excommunicated the assassins of the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and refused to crown the new Emperor
John I Tzimiskes John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to inclu ...
, nephew of the late Emperor (and one of the assassins) until he punished the assassins and
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
d his lover Empress Theophano who allegedly organised her husband's assassination.


Notes and references


External links


Neobyzantine church - liturgical calendar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polyeuctus of Constantinople Polyeuctus, Constantinople 10th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Year of birth unknown Constantine VII