Domnus II, was

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

between 442 and 449 and a friend of the influential Bishop of

Cyrrhus Cyrrhus (; el, Κύρρος ''Kyrrhos'') is a city in ancient Syria founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Other names for the city include Coricium, Corice, Hagioupolis, Nebi Huri ( ar, نبي هوري), and Khoros ...

, Saint Theodoret.

Biography

Domnus was ordained deacon by the

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in c ...

Juvenal of Jerusalem in 429 AD and remained at the Monastery of St. Euthymius in Palestine for two years. In 431 AD he left the monastery to aid his uncle,

John I of Antioch, as part of the

Nestorian Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

Controversy. Domnus went to

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

to support proponents of the School of Antioch in favour of Nestorianism against supporters of

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria ( grc, Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲩ ⲁ̅ also ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ; 376 – 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 44 ...

and his successor Dioscurus. In 442 AD, upon the death of his uncle, Domnus was elected successor with support he had acquired in Antioch. In 445 AD he summoned a synod of Syrian bishops and confirmed the deposition of Athanasius of Perrha. In 447 AD he consecrated

Irenaeus Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the de ...

to the see of Tyre (Theodoret, ''Epistle'' 110); but emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his ...

, commanded that the appointment should be annulled on the grounds that Irenaeus was both a ''digamus'' and a supporter of

Nestorianism Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

. He defended Ibas, bishop of

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroe ...

, against charges of promulgating Nestorian doctrines, and summoned a council at Antioch (448) which decided in favor of Ibas and deposed his accusers. Domnus's sentence, though revoked by Flavian,

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 ...

, was confirmed by three episcopal commissioners to whom he and the emperor Theodosius II had committed the matter. As a result, he was deposed at the Second Council of Ephesus on August 8, 449. Cowed by the authoritarian spirit of Dioscorus, and unnerved by the violence of Barsumas and his monks, Domnus revoked his former condemnation of Eutyches, and voted for the condemnation of Flavian, but in vain. He was the only bishop then deposed and banished who was not reinstated after the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, B ...

—though this may have been by request so he could retire to his beloved monastery. At that council Maximus II, his successor in the see of Antioch, obtained permission to assign Domnus a pension from the revenues of the church, and on his recall from exile Domnus returned to the monastic home of his youth, ending his days in the Monastery of St. Euthymius, where in 452 AD, according to Theophanes, he afforded a refuge to Juvenal of Jerusalem when he was driven from his see (Theophanes, p. 92).

References

*
A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D., with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies
' by Henry Wace. {{DEFAULTSORT:Domnus II Of Antioch Patriarchs of Antioch 5th-century Byzantine bishops 5th-century archbishops Nestorians