Menas (Minas) ( grc, Μηνάς) (died 25 August 552) considered a
saint in the
Calcedonian affirming church and by extension both the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...
and
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
of our times, was born in Alexandria, and enters the records in high ecclesiastical office as presbyter and director of the
Hospital of Sampson in Constantinople, where tradition has him linked to Saint Sampson directly, and in the healing of Justinian from the
bubonic plague in 542. He was appointed
Patriarch of Constantinople by the
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...
on 13 March 536.
Pope Agapetus I
Pope Agapetus I (489/490 – 22 April 536) was the bishop of Rome from 13 May 535 to his death. His father, Gordianus, was a priest in Rome and he may have been related to two previous popes, Felix III and Gregory I.
In 536, Agapetus traveled ...
consecrated him to succeed
Anthimus, who was condemned as a
monophysite. This was the first time that a
Roman Pope consecrated a Patriarch of Constantinople.
At some date very soon after his election he received the order (keleusis) from the Emperor, whose text is not preserved, but which instructed him to call a
synodos endemousa to examine the case of Anthimus, which would be heard at a series of five sessions, beginning on 2 May and ending 4 June 536. This Synod condemned Anthimus, as noted in
Novel XLII from Justinian, addressed directly to Menas. Within this same effort from Justinian to seal the growing rift between the Patriarch in Constantinople and that of Jerusalem, Menas later took a position against
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...
, a crisis merging into the
Three-Chapter Controversy
The Three-Chapter Controversy, a phase in the Chalcedonian controversy, was an attempt to reconcile the non-Chalcedonians of Syria and Egypt with Chalcedonian Christianity, following the failure of the Henotikon. The ''Three Chapters'' (, ''trà ...
, an attempt to condemn the writings of certain
non-Chalcedonian
Non-Chalcedonian Christianity comprises the branches of Christianity that do not accept theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Non-Chalcedonian denominations reject the Christological ...
figures. Because of these moves, he was excommunicated by Agapetus in 547 and in 551 for taking positions counter to those held by the Pope; but in both cases the sentence of excommunication was quickly lifted. Menas' patriarchate represents the greatest extent of papal influence in
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 ( ...
. Almost immediately after the events of 536, which may be viewed as a Chalcedonian victory over monophysites, the ordination of an independent network of alleged monophysite / self-professed
miaphysite bishops claiming
apostolic authority would begin, leading eventually to the formation of a separate non-Chalcedonian church, the still-existing
Syrian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = syc
, image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg
, imagewidth = 250
, alt = Cathedral of Saint George
, caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...
that would be in communion with other
excommunicated sees of the same theological persuasion. Justinian and Menas' efforts for doctrinal Church unity would meet with failure.
It was during his patriarchate that emperor Justinian's church of
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Åžerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
, then the largest building in the world and the seat of the Patriarchs, was consecrated. Also, in 551 the Emperor compelled Menas to call what would be the
Fifth Ecumenical Council
The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and ...
, to reconcile the Western and Eastern Churches around the Three-Chapter Controversy, to be chaired ultimately by his successor Patriarch
Eutychius of Constantinople
Eutychius (, ''Eutychios''; 512 – 5 April 582), considered a saint in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian traditions, was the patriarch of Constantinople from 552 to 565, and from 577 to 582. His feast is kept by the Orthodox Church ...
in 553.
[
Lieve van Hoof and Peter van Nuffelen, "The Historiography of Crisis: Jordanes, Cassiodorus and Justinian in mid-sixth-century Constantinople", ''The Journal of Roman Studies'', Volume 107 , November 2017 , pp. 275 - 300
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0075435817000284]
He died peacefully in 552. His feast day in both the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
and
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
traditions is observed on August 25.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mennas
Saints from Constantinople
Menas
Year of birth missing
6th-century Christian saints
Justinian I
Ancient Alexandrians
552 deaths