Tryphon of Constantinople (; died 933) was a 10th-century

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 ...

. He is

venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

as a

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 ...

in 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 ...

Life

Tryphon was a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

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 ...

. Patriarch

Stephen II of Constantinople Stephen II of Constantinople ( ''Stefanos''; died 19 July 928) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 29 June 925 to 18 July 928. He appears to have been appointed to the post by Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos after the death of Nic ...

died on 19 July 928. Tryphon was raised to the post of the Patriarch on 14 December 928 by

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos (; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of ...

on condition that he would resign in favor of the Emperor's son Theophylact Lekapenos when the boy comes of age. Theophylact turned 16 in 931 and Roman asked Patriarch Tryphon to step down as promised so Theophylakt could assume the Patriarchate. Tryphon refused to hand over the throne to a boy and remained in office. Romanos was infuriated and wanted to arrest him and execute him but Tryphon was very much loved by the people for his virtues. Then the Emperor's advisors came up with a better plan to remove him from office without causing a rebellion. During a meeting with other bishops, bishop Basil accused Tryphon of being illiterate, and the Patriarch protested that he was not. Bishop Basil had an Imperial agent ask him to prove that by signing his name on a blank paper, Tryphon signed the blank paper and then Bishop Basil sent the paper to the Palace where the Imperial Clerks wrote the document of his resignation on the blank paper with Tryphon's signature. When he found out that he was deceived it was too late, Theophylact had been already proclaimed Patriarch and Tryphon was forced to retire to monastery where he died in 933.

Veneration

Tryphon is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. His feast day is .

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tryphon of Constantinople 933 deaths Year of birth unknown 10th-century patriarchs of Constantinople 10th-century Byzantine monks