Gregory Asbestas ( el, Γρηγόριος Ἀσβεστᾶς, ) was an influential bishop from

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, who served thrice as

Archbishop of Syracuse The Archdiocese of Siracusa, also known as Syracuse, ( la, Archidioecesis Syracusana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It became an archdiocese in 1844.metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

. A protégé of the

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 ...

Methodius I, he played an important role in the church conflicts of the day, becoming one of the leading opponents of Methodius' rival and successor,

Ignatius Ignatius is a male given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Religious * Ignatius of Antioch (35–108), saint and martyr, Apostolic Father, early Christian bishop * Ignatius of Constantinople (797–877), Cath ...

, who dethroned him. Asbestas consequently became a close ally of another opponent of Ignatius,

Photius Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...

, and when Ignatius was deposed and succeeded by Photius in 858, Asbestas was reinstated and performed Photius' consecration. He was deposed again during Ignatius' second patriarchate (858–867). He wrote a ''Life'' of Methodius, and reportedly authored caricatures ridiculing Ignatius, but neither of these works survives.

Sources

* * * 9th-century Byzantine bishops 9th-century archbishops Byzantine Sicily People from Syracuse, Sicily Bishops of Nicaea {{Bishop-stub