John VIII Xiphilinos ( el, Ἰωάννης Ηʹ Ξιφιλῖνος; c. 1010 – 2 August 1075), a native of Trebizond, was a Byzantine

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...

,Xiphilinos, John VIII – Oxford Reference
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jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...

, and

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 ...

from 1064 to 1075. He was the uncle of

John Xiphilinus Joannes Xiphilinus (also John Xiphilinus; el, Ἰωάννης Ξιφιλῖνος), epitomator of Dio Cassius, lived at Constantinople during the latter half of the 11th century AD. He was a monk and the nephew of Patriarch John VIII of Consta ...

, the Epimator. He is considered "an innovator in the field of the methodology of jurisprudential research."

Early career

John Xiphilinos was born in Trebizond. He pursued studies at the University of Constantinople and eventually became ''

nomophylax The ''nomophylax'' ( el, νομοφύλαξ, "guardian of the laws") was a senior Byzantine judicial office of the 11th–15th centuries. History The office of ''nomophylax'' was established by Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055) eit ...

'' of its School of Law. Later he became a monk and was eventually selected by Emperor

Constantine X Doukas Constantine X Doukas or Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantinos X Doukas'', 1006 – 23 May 1067), was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder and first ruling member of the Doukid dynasty. Dur ...

(1059–67) to succeed Constantine Leichoudes as the

Episcopacy

In 1072 John VIII presided over an assembly of metropolitans and archbishops at the oratory of

Saint Alexius Saint Alexius of Rome or Alexius of Edessa ( el, Ἀλέξιος, ''Alexios''), also Alexis, was a fourth-century Greek monk who lived in anonymity and is known for his dedication to Christ. There are two versions of his life that are known, a Sy ...

in which the question of the election of bishops to vacant sees was discussed. Michael Keroularios had forbidden metropolitans who were resident in Constantinople from participating in such elections. John, however, recognized that metropolitans sometimes had to remain for a long period in the capital due to ecclesiastical business or illness. The assembly with John's consent decreed that metropolitans who gave the patriarch advance notification of their intent could again vote while resident in Constantinople. After his death his remains were buried at the monastery of Angourion on 2 August 1075. John VIII wrote a

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

Saint Eugenios of Trebizond Saint Eugenios ( el, Άγιος Ευγένιος) or Eugene was martyred under Diocletian and a cult devoted to him developed in Trebizond. His feast day is 21 January. Eugenios along with the martyrs Candidus, Valerian and Aquila was persecuted d ...

. William Miller, ''Trebizond: The last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era: 1204-1461'', 1926 (Chicago: Argonaut, 1969), p. 11 John VIII has been canonized in 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 via ...

and his feast day is celebrated on August 30.

References

External links

John VIII Xiphilinos – Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World
1010 births 1075 deaths 11th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Byzantine Pontians People from Trapezus Byzantine jurists 11th-century jurists Year of birth uncertain {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub