Methodius I of Constantinople or ''Methodios I'' (; 788/800 – 14 June 847) was

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 ...

from 11 March 843 to 14 June 847. He was born in Syracuse and died in

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 ...

. His feast day is celebrated on June 14 in both the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and the West.

Life

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Born to wealthy parents, Methodius was sent as a young man to Constantinople to continue his education and hopefully attain an appointment at court. But instead, he entered a monastery in Bithynia, eventually becoming

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

. Adrian Fortescue
"Methodius I"
'' Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. 9, New York, Robert Appleton Company, 1910 Under Emperor Leo V the Armenian (813–820) the Iconoclast persecution broke out for the second time. In 815 Methodius went to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, perhaps as an envoy of the deposed Patriarch Nicephorus I of Constantinople. Upon his return in 821 he was arrested and exiled as an iconodule by the Iconoclast regime of Emperor Michael II. In 828 Michael II, not long before his death, mitigated the persecution and proclaimed a general amnesty. Methodius returned to Constantinople. Michael II was succeeded by his son, Theophilos, who followed his father's policies. Methodius was again arrested and imprisoned. He escaped and was hidden by friends. Seeing that Methodius was not to be overcome by punishment, the emperor tried to convince him by argument. The result of their discussion was that Methodius to some extent persuaded the emperor. At any rate towards the end of the reign, the persecution was mitigated. Theophilos died in 842. Soon after the death of the emperor, in 843, the influential minister Theoktistos convinced the Empress Mother Theodora, as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for her two-year-old son Michael III, to permit the restoration of

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

s. He then deposed the iconoclast Patriarch John VII of Constantinople and secured the appointment of Methodius as his successor, bringing about the end of the iconoclast controversy. A week after his appointment and after the Council of Constantinople (843), accompanied by Theodora, Michael III, and Theoktistos, Methodius I made a triumphal procession from the church of Blachernae to

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

on 11 March 843, restoring the icons to the church. This heralded the restoration of Christian orthodoxy, and became a holiday in the Byzantine Church, celebrated every year on the First Sunday of Great Lent, and known as the " Triumph of Orthodoxy".'' Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions'', January 2000, p. 231 . The final years of the saint passed peacefully, he toiled much, wisely guided the Church and his flock."Saint Methodius the Patriarch of Constantinople"
Orthodox Church in America. Throughout his short patriarchate, Methodius I tried to pursue a moderate line of accommodation with members of the clergy who were formerly iconoclasts. Methodius I was well-educated, engaged in both copying and writing of manuscripts. His individual works included polemica, hagiographical and liturgical works, sermons and poetry.

Notes and references

Attribution

Bibliography

* ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Methodios 01 Of Constantinople 847 deaths People from Syracuse, Sicily Byzantine saints Byzantine Iconoclasm Byzantine saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Sicilian saints 9th-century patriarchs of Constantinople 9th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown

Life

Notes and references

Attribution

See also

Bibliography