Theophylact Lekapenos (or Lecapenus) ( el, Θεοφύλακτος Λεκαπηνός, ''Theophylaktos Lekapenos'') (917 – 27 February 956) was
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople[''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium''. Oxford University Press, 1991.] from 2 February 933 to his death in 956.
Theophylact was the youngest son of Emperor
Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine ...
and his wife
Theodora. Romanos planned to make his son patriarch as soon as
Nicholas Mystikos died in 925, but two minor patriarchates and a two-year vacancy passed before Theophylact was considered old enough to discharge his duties as patriarch (as he was still only sixteen years old). At this time, or before, he was castrated to help his career in the church. Theophylact was the third patriarch of Constantinople to be the son of an emperor and the only one to have become patriarch during the reign of his father. His patriarchate of just over twenty-three years was unusually long, and his father had secured the support of
Pope John XI
Pope John XI ( la, Ioannes XI; c. 910 – December 935) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 931 to his death. The true ruler of Rome at the time was his mother, Marozia, followed by his brother Alberic II. Hi ...
for his elevation to the patriarchate. Apart from the bastard
eunuch Basil Lekapenos, who was appointed ''
parakoimomenos
The ''parakoimōmenos'' ( el, παρακοιμώμενος, literally "the one who sleeps beside he emperor's chamber) was a Byzantine court position, usually reserved for eunuchs. The position's proximity to the emperors guaranteed its holders ...
'', Theophylact was the only son of Romanos I to retain his high office after the family's fall from power in 945.
Theophylact supported his father's policies and pursued ecclesiastical
ecumenicism, keeping in close contact with the Greek patriarchates of
Alexandria and
Antioch. He sent missionaries to the
Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
, trying to help the efforts of imperial diplomacy in the late 940s. At about the same time, Theophylact advised his nephew-in-law Emperor
Peter I of Bulgaria
Peter I ( cu, Петръ А҃; bg, Петър I) (died 30 January 970) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969. His seal reads ΙΠSVΟς·GRECIA·VΟΔΟ.
Early reign
Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second ma ...
on the new
Bogomil heresy. Theophylact introduced theatrical elements to the Byzantine liturgy, something which was not universally supported by the conservative clergy around him.
Theophylact's detractors describe him as an irreverent man primarily interested in his huge stable of horses, who was ready to abandon the celebration of Divine Liturgy in the
Hagia Sophia to be present at the foaling of his favorite mare. Theophylact died after
falling from a horse in 956.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Theophylact 01 of Constantinople
917 births
956 deaths
10th-century patriarchs of Constantinople
Lekapenos family
Macedonian dynasty
Christian anti-Gnosticism
Deaths by horse-riding accident
Constantine VII
Sons of Byzantine emperors