Cyriacus (? – 29 October 606) was the thirtieth
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
(595–606). He was previously presbyter and steward, ''oikonomos'', of the great church at
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
(''
Chronicon Paschale
''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name com ...
'', p. 378).
Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...
received the legates bearing the synodal letters which announced his consecration, partly from a desire not to disturb the peace of the church, and partly from the personal respect which he entertained for Cyriac; but in his reply he warned him against the sin of causing divisions in the church, clearly alluding to the use of the term oecumenical bishop, which Gregory interpreted as meaning "universal" or even "exclusive" bishop (Gregory, ''Ep''. lib. vii. 4,
Patrologia Latina
The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published between ...
lxxvii. 853). The personal feelings of Gregory towards Cyriac appear most friendly.
Cyriacus did not attend to Gregory's entreaties that he abstain from using the title, for Gregory wrote afterwards both to him and to the emperor
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
*Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
*Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
* Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...
, declaring that he could not allow his legates to remain in communion with Cyriac as long as he retained it. In the latter of these letters he compares the assumption of the title to the sin of Antichrist, since both exhibit a spirit of lawless pride. "Quisquis se universalem sacerdotem vocat, vel vocari desiderat, in elatione sua Antichristum praecurrit" (whosoever calls himself universal priest, or desires to be called so, is the forerunner of the Antichrist) (Gregory ''Ep''. 28, 30). In a letter to
Anastasius I of Antioch
Anastasius I of Antioch was the Patriarch of Antioch twice (561–571 and 593–599).
Alban Butler calls him "a man of singular learning and piety". He was a friend of Pope Gregory I, and aroused the enmity of the Emperor Justinian by opposing ...
, who had written to him to remonstrate against disturbing the peace of the church, Gregory defends his conduct on the ground of the injury which Cyriac had done to all other patriarchs by the assumption of the title, and reminds Anastasius that not only heretics but heresiarchs had before this been patriarchs of Constantinople. He also deprecates the use of the term on more general grounds (Ep. 24). In spite of all this Cyriacus was firm in his retention of the title, and appears to have summoned, or to have meditated summoning, a council to authorize its use. For in 599 Gregory wrote to
Eusebius of Thessalonica and some other bishops, stating that he had heard they were about to be summoned to a council at Constantinople, and most urgently entreating them to yield neither to force nor to persuasion, but to be steadfast in their refusal to recognize the offensive title (ib. lib. ix. 68 in Patr. Lat.).
Cyriacus appears to have shared in that unpopularity of the emperor
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
*Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
*Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
* Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...
which caused his deposition and death (
Theophanes ''Chronicle'', A.M. 6094; Niceph. Callis. H. E. xviii. 40; Theophylact. Hist. viii. 9). He still, however, had influence enough to exact from
Phocas
Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers ...
at his coronation a confession of the orthodox faith and a pledge not to disturb the church (Theophanes ''Chronicle'', A.M. 6094). He also nobly resisted the attempt of Phocas to drag the empress
Constantina
Flavia Valeria Constantina (also sometimes called ''Constantia'' and ''Constantiana''; el, Κωνσταντίνα; b. after 307/before 317 – d. 354), later known as Saint Constance, was the eldest daughter of Roman emperor Constantine the Great ...
and her daughters from their sanctuary in a church of Constantinople (''ibid''., A.M. 6098).
Perhaps some resentment at this opposition to his will may have induced Phocas to accede more readily to the claims of
Pope Boniface III
Pope Boniface III ( la, Bonifatius III; died 12 November 607) was the bishop of Rome from 19 February 607 to his death. Despite his short pontificate, he made a significant contribution to the Catholic Church.
Early career
The son of John Cataa ...
that Rome should be considered to be the head of all the church, in exclusion of the claims of Constantinople to the oecumenical bishopric (''Vita Bonifacii III'', in
Labbe, ''Acta Concil''. t. v. 1615).
Cyriac died in 606, and was interred in the
church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...
(''Chronicon Paschale'', p. 381). He appears to have been a man of remarkable piety and earnestness, able to win the esteem of all parties. He built a church dedicated to the ''
theotokos
''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...
'' in a street of Constantinople called Diaconissa (Theophanes ''Chronicle'', A.M. 6090; Niceph. Callis. H. E. xviii. 42).
References
;Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyriacus 02 Of Constantinople, Patriarch
606 deaths
Burials at the Church of the Holy Apostles
6th-century patriarchs of Constantinople
7th-century patriarchs of Constantinople
Year of birth unknown