Sisinnius II of Constantinople (; died 24 August 998) became

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 ...

in 996 and held the post until his death in 998. According to the histories of

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes (, ; , ; early 1040s – after 1101), was a Byzantine historian of the late 11th century. Life Very little is known about his life. The title of his work records him as a '' kouropalat ...

and

Joannes Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Roman historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private s ...

, he was extremely well educated, particularly in medical matters, and had been honoured with the office of ''

magistros The (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magist ...

''.. He was elected to the patriarchate on 12 April 996, after the see had remained vacant for more than four years, due to the preoccupation 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 ...

with his

wars War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

against the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

. On 21 February 997, he issued a ''tomos'' on prohibiting marriage between persons related to the fifth or sixth degree. These regulations are soon after attested in juridical decisions but appear to have also caused some opposition (''Logos Antirrhetikos'' of Skribas Nikolaos, ). Two other canons on prohibitions related to marriages are also attributed to him, but are considered as fake by modern scholars. A later note in John Skylitzes' account also reports that Sisinnius II managed to finally lay to rest the quarrels of the tetragamy affair of

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, also known as Leo the Wise (; 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well read, leading to his epithet. During ...

(). In 997–998, he also issued a ''

typikon A typikon (or ''typicon'', ''typica''; , "that of the prescribed form"; Church Slavonic: ') is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the Byzantine Rite office and variable hymns of the Divine Liturgy. Historical de ...

'' concerning the provision of the

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 ...

Alania Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans ( Proto-Ossetians) that flourished between the 9th–13th centuries in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of the latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia ...

in the patriarchal monastery of Epiphanios in Kerasus. Sisinnius II was also the recipient of three letters from

Leo of Synada Leo of Synnada (Greek: Λεών Σύνναδας; – after 1003) was a Byzantine cleric, diplomat and writer of the late 10th century. Life Origin and family Leo was born in , likely in 937.. Leo and his life are known only through his letters, ...

. He died on 24 August 998. His successor was

Sergius II of Constantinople Sergius II of Constantinople (; died July 1019) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from July 1001 to 1019. According to the history of John Skylitzes, he was a relative of the celebrated 9th-century patriarch Photius I. In 1001, he ...

, who was elected in 1001.

Notes and references

Bibliography

Official website of the Ecumenic Patriarchate of Constantinople
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sisinnius 02 Of Constantinople 998 deaths 10th-century births 10th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Year of birth unknown Magistroi Basil II