Metrophanes of Byzantium (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Μητροφάνης; died 314) was the 26th bishop of Byzantium according to tradition, holding the office from 306 to 314. He is the first bishop supported by historical sources. In fact, there is no mention of any organized Christian community in Byzantium before him. There is a tradition that the Roman emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

bestowed upon him the honorary title of

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

; however, Byzantium did not become the capital of the Empire until 330 (when it was renamed

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 ...

), and the see was not elevated to a patriarchate until 451. According to

Gelasius of Cyzicus Gelasius of Cyzicus was an ecclesiastical writer in the 5th century. The often attributed name ''Gelasius'' is an error of Photius I of Constantinople and of the editor of the ''editio princeps''; the anonymous author never mentioned his name, so he ...

, Metrophanes was alive during the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea ( ; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The Council of Nicaea met from May until the end of July 325. This ec ...

(325), but could not partake due to his age and ill health, so he sent instead

Alexander of Constantinople Alexander of Constantinople (; 241 – 337) was bishop of Byzantium from 314 and the first bishop of Constantinople from 330 (the city was renamed during his episcopacy in 330). Scholars consider most of the available information on Alexander ...

, whom he destined as his successor. Metrophanes was most likely already dead by then.

Socrates of Constantinople Socrates of Constantinople ( 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus (), was a 5th-century Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret. He is the author of a ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' ("Church Hist ...

writes that Alexander of Constantinople succeeded Metrophanes sometime before 319. Metrophanes has been canonised

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

and is revered in both 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 ...

and the

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. 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 4 June. His father was

Dometius of Byzantium Dometius of Byzantium ( Greek: Δομέτιος; died 284) was bishop of Byzantium from about 272 to about 284. He was a brother of the Roman emperor Probus. He converted to Early Christianity, and entered the clergy when he was baptised by t ...

, his uncle was Roman emperor

Probus Probus may refer to: People * Marcus Valerius Probus (c. 20/30–105 AD), Roman grammarian * Marcus Pomponius Maecius Probus, consul in 228 * Probus (emperor), Roman Emperor (276–282) * Probus of Byzantium (–306), Bishop of Byzantium from 293 t ...

, and his brother

Probus of Byzantium Probus of Byzantium (Greek: Πρόβος; died 306) was bishop of Byzantium from 293 to 306. Probus was the son of Dometius of Byzantium, brother of Roman emperor Probus, who was the predecessor of his predecessor Rufinus of Byzantium Ruf ...

. Both were also appointed Bishops of Byzantium before him.Bishops/Patriarchs of Constantinople
Byzantine Studies Page,

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

Notes and references

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St Metrophanes the first Patriarch of Constantinople
4th-century Romans Saints from Constantinople Roman-era Byzantines 4th-century Byzantine bishops 4th-century Christian saints Bishops of Byzantium 326 deaths Year of birth unknown Participants in the First Council of Nicaea {{EarlyChurch-bishop-stub

Notes and references

See also

External links