Gregory Asbestas ( el, Γρηγόριος Ἀσβεστᾶς, ) was an influential bishop from
Syracuse, 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 ...]
of
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 s ...
. A protégé of the
Patriarch of Constantinople 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, 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.
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9th-century Byzantine bishops
9th-century archbishops
Byzantine Sicily
People from Syracuse, Sicily
Bishops of Nicaea
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