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Flavius Arcadius was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the augustus Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius. Arcadius ruled the eastern half of the empire from 395, when their father died, while Honorius ruled the west. A weak ruler, his reign was dominated by a series of powerful ministers and by his wife, Aelia Eudoxia.
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the late-4th and 5th centuries. He was a central figure in the Council of Ephesus in 431, which led to the deposition of Nestorius as Patriarch of Constantinople. Cyril is counted among the Church Fathers and also as a Doctor of the Church, and his reputation within the Christian world has resulted in his titles Pillar of Faith and Seal of all the Fathers. The Roman emperor Theodosius II, however, condemned him for behaving like a "proud pharaoh", and the Nestorian bishops at their synod at the Council of Ephesus declared him a heretic, labelling him as a "monster, born and educated for the destruction of the church."
John Chrysostom was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. The epithet Χρυσόστομος means "golden-mouthed" in Greek and denotes his celebrated eloquence. Chrysostom was among the most prolific authors in the early Christian Church, although both Origen of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo exceeded Chrysostom.
Year 404 (CDIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Honorius and Aristaenetus. The denomination 404 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Nectarius was the archbishop of Constantinople from AD 381 until his death, the successor to Saint Gregory Nazianzus and predecessor to St. John Chrysostom.
Arsacius was the intruding archbishop of Constantinople from 404 to 405, after the violent expulsion of John Chrysostom. His memory is kept on 11 October.
Atticus was the archbishop of Constantinople, succeeding Arsacius of Tarsus in March 406. He had been an opponent of John Chrysostom and helped Arsacius of Tarsus depose him, but later became a supporter of him after his death. He rebuilt the small church that was located on the site of the later Hagia Sophia, and was an opponent of the Pelagians, which helped increase his popularity among the citizens of Constantinople.
Saint Proclus was an archbishop of Constantinople. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy.
Aelia Pulcheria was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her death in 453.
Aelia Eudoxia was a Roman empress consort by marriage to the Roman emperor Arcadius. The marriage was the source of some controversy, as it was arranged by Eutropius, one of the eunuch court officials, who was attempting to expand his influence. As Empress, she came into conflict with John Chrysostom, the Patriarch of Constantinople, who was popular among the common folk for his denunciations of imperial and clerical excess. She had five children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including her only son and future emperor Theodosius II, but she had two additional pregnancies that ended in either miscarriages or stillbirths and she died as a result of the latter one.
John IV, also known as John Nesteutes, was the 33rd bishop or Patriarch of Constantinople. He was the first to assume the title Ecumenical Patriarch. He is regarded as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church which holds a feast on September 2.
January 26 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - January 28
Saint Gaudentius was Bishop of Brescia from 387 until 410, and was a theologian and author of many letters and sermons. He was the successor of Saint Philastrius.
The Synod of the Oak was a provincial synod, held in Constantinople in July of 403, which condemned and deposed John Chrysostom as Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is the most celebrated divine liturgy in the Byzantine Rite. It is named after its core part, the anaphora attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople in the 5th century.
In Christianity, the translation of relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality to another ; usually only the movement of the remains of the saint's body would be treated so formally, with secondary relics such as items of clothing treated with less ceremony. Translations could be accompanied by many acts, including all-night vigils and processions, often involving entire communities.
In the 5th century in Christianity, there were many developments which led to further fracturing of the State church of the Roman Empire. Emperor Theodosius II called two synods in Ephesus, one in 431 and one in 449, that addressed the teachings of Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius and similar teachings. Nestorius had taught that Christ's divine and human nature were distinct persons, and hence Mary was the mother of Christ but not the mother of God. The Council rejected Nestorius' view causing many churches, centered on the School of Edessa, to a Nestorian break with the imperial church. Persecuted within the Roman Empire, many Nestorians fled to Persia and joined the Sassanid Church thereby making it a center of Nestorianism. By the end of the 5th century, the global Christian population was estimated at 10-11 million. In 451 the Council of Chalcedon was held to clarify the issue further. The council ultimately stated that Christ's divine and human nature were separate but both part of a single entity, a viewpoint rejected by many churches who called themselves miaphysites. The resulting schism created a communion of churches, including the Armenian, Syrian, and Egyptian churches, that is today known as Oriental Orthodoxy. In spite of these schisms, however, the imperial church still came to represent the majority of Christians within the Roman Empire.
Olympias, also known as Saint Olympias and sometimes known as Olympias the Younger to distinguish her from her aunt of the same name was a Christian Roman noblewoman of Greek descent.
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical period in which they worked became known as the Patristic Era and spans approximately from the late 1st to mid 8th centuries, flourishing in particular during the 4th and 5th centuries, when Christianity was in the process of establishing itself as the state church of the Roman Empire.
Saints Tygrius and Eutropius were two early Roman martyrs who supported Saint John Chrysostom at the time of his exile. Eutropius was tortured and died, while Tygrius was exiled, but both are considered martyrs. Their feast day is 12 January.
References
- Englebert, Omer. The Lives of the Saints. Christopher and Anne Fremantle, trans. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1994. Nihil obstat 1951. p. 491.
- Catholic Online Accessed Dec. 26, 2006.
