St. Ignatius was the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople from 847 to 858 and from 867 to 877. Ignatius lived during a complex time for the Byzantine Empire. The Iconoclast Controversy was ongoing, Boris I of Bulgaria converted to Christianity in 864, and the Roman pontiffs repeatedly challenged the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Eastern Church in Bulgaria. As patriarch, Ignatius denounced iconoclasm, secured jurisdiction over Bulgaria for the Eastern Church, and played an important role in conflicts over papal supremacy.
Ignatius is appointed patriarch by Empress Theodora. Scene from the 12th century Madrid Skylitzes.
At the time St. Ignatius lived, relations remained tense between the Eastern and Western Churches. Byzantium was embroiled in several controversies. The pope, as head of the Western Church, maintained that he had supreme and universal authority over both Churches, but the Eastern Church opposed his claim. Indeed, Photius, who replaced Ignatius as patriarch when was deposed in 859, condemned the pope and the Western Church in 867 for adding the filioque (“and the Son”) to the Nicene Creed. The Eastern and Western churches also competed to convert the Slavs, and both Churches sought to dominate the Christianization of Bulgaria. At that time, the Eastern Church faced internal struggles, too. Most notably, the Church had not yet resolved the Iconoclast Controversy. Although the seventh ecumenical council, also known as the Second Council of Nicaea, had decided in favor of icon veneration in 787, Iconoclasm continued.
Birth and early life
St. Ignatius or Ignatios (Greek: Ἰγνάτιος) was born in 798 and died on October 23, 877. He was originally named Niketas, and was a son of the Emperor Michael I and Empress Prokopia. As a child, Niketas was appointed nominal commander of the new corps of imperial guards, the Hikanatoi. When he was fourteen, Leo the Armenian had Niketas forcibly castrated, which made him ineligible to become emperor, and effectively imprisoned in a monastery after his father's deposition in 813. As a monk, he took the name Ignatius and eventually became abbot. He also founded three monasteries on the Princes' Islands, a favorite place for exiling tonsured members of the imperial house.
Patriarchate
Theodora appointed St. Ignatius as patriarch in 847 in part because he supported venerating icons.[1] As patriarch, Ignatius became an important ally for Theodora in the midst of the Iconoclast Controversy. Choosing an iconodule as patriarch secured Theodora's power, since she was more at risk of being overthrown by iconodules than by iconoclasts. Ignatius served as Patriarch of Constantinople from July 4, 847 to October 23, 858 and from November 23, 867 to his death on October 23, 877.
Deposition and ascent of Photius
The imperial court's resentment of St. Ignatius began when he excommunicated a high ranking imperial court member, Bardas, for incest.[2] Bardas exiled Empress Theodora, attempting to gain more power, but Ignatius refused to approve of this. Emperor Michael III, influenced by Bardas, removed Ignatius as patriarch and exiled him in 857. A synod was convened which deposed St. Ignatius on the basis of a canon which prohibited a bishop being appointed by a secular power. Photius, an associate of Bardas, was made patriarch on Christmas Day of 858.
A schism resulted from Photius’ election because many bishops saw St. Ignatius’ exit as illegitimate. St. Ignatius had only a few supporters once Photius became patriarch. Most agreed that St. Ignatius had legitimately resigned, but some of his supporters appealed to Rome for him. A synod of 170 bishops deposed and anathematized St. Ignatius, but the schism escalated when Pope St. Nicholas I stepped in. The Roman see thought itself to have universal jurisdiction over all bishops, but Constantinople did not believe that Rome had this right.
Intervention of Pope St. Nicholas I and Pope Hadrian
Pope St. Nicholas I questioned Photius’ legitimate status as patriarch. Papal legates retried St. Ignatius in a synod in 861, which said that Photius was the legitimate patriarch, but Nicholas rejected that synod and held his own synod which condemned Photius and declared Ignatius the legitimate patriarch. He excommunicated Photius and declared all his ordinations invalid. Emperor Michael III rejected Nicholas’ synod and accepted the one that had approved Ignatius’ deposition.
Photius excommunicated Pope St. Nicholas and all Latin Christians in a council in Constantinople in 867 for believing that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, as well as adding that belief (the filioque) to the Nicene Creed in the West. He did this even though St. Augustine,[3] St. Hilary,[3] St. Ambrose,[3] St. Leo the Great,[3] St. Cyril,[3] St. Maximus the Confessor,[3] and many other saints and theologians in both the West and East explicitly taught the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. Nicholas died before hearing about the council, but his successor Pope Hadrian II condemned it. The controversy over the filioque played a key role in the eventual schism that would split the two Churches for over a thousand years.
Emperor Michael III was murdered and Basileios, his co-emperor, replaced him in 867. Basileios exiled Photius and restored St. Ignatius as patriarch. Basileios effectively undid the last nine years of church history, restoring the Ignatian bishops and nullifying everything Photius did, securing his political position as emperor. Pope Hadrian II held a council in 869 which condemned Photius, rejecting and burning the council of 867. The pope's council said that Photius’ ordinations were invalid and if the bishops wanted to be part of the council, they had to sign a document condemning Photius and affirming the supremacy of Rome. A council was convened at Constantinople in 869 for the eastern bishops to review Pope Hadrian's decision. The council met, condemned Photius, and reinstated St. Ignatius, but many eastern bishops did not show up and the papal supremacy canons were rejected.
Securing Bulgaria for the East
The Christianization of the Slavs created conflict between the Eastern and Western Churches as both vied for control of the new Bulgarian church. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Bulgaria meant political influence in the khanate as well. Emperor Michael III attacked Bulgaria and caught Boris, the Bulgar khan, off guard. Boris was forced to submit to the emperor and was baptized in 864, taking the Christian name of Micheal.[4] At the Eighth Ecumenical Council council held in 869 in Constantinople, the Bulgarians deferred to Constantinople rather than Rome, thereby confirming that the Bulgarian church submitted to Constantinople, not Rome. A papal letter to St. Ignatius threatened that he would not be reinstated if he interfered with Roman plans in Bulgaria, but he did not read the letter and chose an archbishop for Bulgaria. Rome still accepted the provisions of the council because it upheld the condemnation of Photius.
After death
After St. Ignatius died in 877, Photius became the Patriarch of Constantinople once again, since Ignatius named him as his successor.[5] In the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, he is venerated as a saint, with a feast day of October 23.
↑ Norwich, John Julius (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. New York City, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. p.142.
↑ Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p.451.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Duong, Brian (2024). The Filioque: Answering the Eastern Orthodox. Virginia, USA. p.147.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Curta, Florian (2019). Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijke. pp.197–198.
↑ Siecienski, A. Edward (2020). "Contra Latinos Et Adversus Graecos", Byzantium and the Papacy from the Fifth to Fifteenth Centuries Stage Two: The Jurisdictional Disputes (9th-11th Centuries). Bondgenotenlaan: Peeters Publishers. p.14.
Carr, John C. Fighting Emperors of Byzantium. 133-141. Pen and Sword Military an imprint of Pen and Sword Books Ltd., 2015
Chadwick, Henry. East and West : The Making of a Rift in the Church : From Apostolic Times until the Council of Florence. Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2003.
Curta, Florian. Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. Leiden, Netherlands: Koninklijke, 2019. 197-206.
The Fourth Council of Constantinople was held in 879–880. It confirmed the reinstatement of Photius I as patriarch of Constantinople.
Pope Adrian II was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 867 to his death. He continued the policy of his predecessor, Nicholas I. Despite seeking good relations with Louis II of Italy, he was placed under surveillance, and his wife and daughters were killed by Louis' supporters.
Photios I, also spelled Photius, was the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople from 858 to 867 and from 877 to 886. He is recognized in the Eastern Orthodox Church as Saint Photios the Great.
Michael III, also known as Michael the Drunkard, was Byzantine emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian dynasty. He was given the disparaging epithet the Drunkard by the hostile historians of the succeeding Macedonian dynasty, but modern historical research has rehabilitated his reputation to some extent, demonstrating the vital role his reign played in the resurgence of Byzantine power in the 9th century. He was also the youngest person to bear the imperial title, as well as the youngest to succeed as senior emperor.
Pope Nicholas I, called Nicholas the Great, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 858 until his death. He is the last of the three Popes listed in the Annuario Pontificio with the title "the Great", alongside Popes Leo I and Gregory I.
This is an alphabetical index of people, places, things, and concepts related to or originating from the Byzantine Empire. Feel free to add more, and create missing pages. You can track changes to the articles included in this list from here.
The East–West Schism, also known as the Great Schism or the Schism of 1054, is the break of communion between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church since 1054. A series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West preceded the formal split that occurred in 1054. Prominent among these were the procession of the Holy Spirit (Filioque), whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in the Eucharist, iconoclasm, the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans in 800, the Pope's claim to universal jurisdiction, and the place of the See of Constantinople in relation to the pentarchy.
The Photian Schism was a four-year (863–867) schism between the episcopal sees of Rome and Constantinople. The issue centred on the right of the Byzantine Emperor to depose and appoint a patriarch without approval from the papacy.
The history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the formation, events, and transformation of the Eastern Orthodox Church through time. According to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the history of the Eastern Orthodox Church is traced back to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The Apostles appointed successors, known as bishops, and they in turn appointed other bishops in a process known as Apostolic succession. Over time, five Patriarchates were established to organize the Christian world, and four of these ancient patriarchates remain Orthodox today. Orthodox Christianity reached its present form in late antiquity, when the ecumenical councils were held, doctrinal disputes were resolved, the Fathers of the Church lived and wrote, and Orthodox worship practices settled into their permanent form.
In the history of Christianity, the first seven ecumenical councils include the following: the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the First Council of Constantinople in 381, the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, the Third Council of Constantinople from 680 to 681 and finally, the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. All of the seven councils were convened in what is now the country of Turkey.
Metrophanes of Smyrna was a Christian bishop, Metropolitan of Smyrna, in the ninth century. He was a leader of the Ignatian bishops at the time of the Photian schism (867).
The Fourth Council of Constantinople was the eighth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held in Constantinople from 5 October 869, to 28 February 870. It was poorly attended, the first session by only 12 bishops and the number of bishops later never exceeded 103. In contrast the pro-Photian council of 879–80 was attended by 383 bishops. The Council met in ten sessions from October 869 to February 870 and issued 27 canons.
The East–West Schism that occurred in 1054 represents one of the most significant events in the history of Christianity. It includes various events and processes that led to the schism and also those events and processes that occurred as a result of the schism. Eastern and Western Christians had a history of differences and disagreements, some dating back to the period of Early Christianity. At the very root of what later became the Great Schism were several questions of pneumatology and ecclesiology. The most important theological difference occurred over various questions regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit, and the use of the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. One of the main ecclesiological issues was the question of papal supremacy. Other points of difference were related to various liturgical, ritual, and disciplinary customs and practices. Some political and cultural processes also contributed to the breakout of the schism.
In the 9th century, Christianity was spreading throughout Europe, being promoted especially in the Carolingian Empire, its eastern neighbours, Scandinavia, and northern Spain. In 800, Charlemagne was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor, which continued the Photian schism.
Christianity in the Middle Ages covers the history of Christianity from the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The end of the period is variously defined - depending on the context, events such as the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire in 1453, Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas in 1492, or the Protestant Reformation in 1517 are sometimes used.
The history of Eastern Orthodox Christian theology begins with the life of Jesus and the forming of the Christian Church. Major events include the Chalcedonian schism of 451 with the Oriental Orthodox miaphysites, the Iconoclast controversy of the 8th and 9th centuries, the Photian schism (863-867), the Great Schism between East and West, and the Hesychast controversy. The period after the end of the Second World War in 1945 saw a re-engagement with the Greek, and more recently Syriac Fathers that included a rediscovery of the theological works of St. Gregory Palamas, which has resulted in a renewal of Orthodox theology in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The history of the filioque controversy is the historical development of theological controversies within Christianity regarding three distinctive issues: the orthodoxy of the doctrine of procession of the Holy Spirit as represented by the Filioque clause, the nature of anathemas mutually imposed by conflicted sides during the Filioque controversy, and the liceity (legitimacy) of the insertion of the Filioque phrase into the Nicene Creed. Although the debates over the orthodoxy of the doctrine of procession and the nature of related anathemas preceded the question of the admissibility of the phrase as inserted into the Creed, all of those issues became linked when the insertion received the approval of the Pope in the eleventh century.
The Council of Constantinople of 867 was a major Church Council, convened by Emperor Michael III of Byzantium and Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople in order to address several ecclesiastical issues, including the question of Papal supremacy in the Church, and the use of Filioque clause in the Creed.
This is a timeline of the presence of Eastern Orthodoxy in Greece from 717 to 1204. The history of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically, as well as the territory now composing the modern state of Greece.
The Council of Constantinople of 861, also known as Protodeutera, was a major Church Council, convened upon the initiative of Emperor Michael III of Byzantium and Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople, and attended by legates of Pope Nicholas I. The Council confirmed the deposition of former Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople, and his replacement by Photios. Several dogmatic, ecclesiological and liturgical questions were also discussed, and seventeen canons were produced. Decisions of the Council were initially approved by papal legates, but their approval was later annulled by the Pope. In spite of that, the Council is considered as valid by the Eastern Orthodox Church.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
