Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople
Encyclopedia
Kallistos I was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two periods from June 1350 to 1353 and from 1354 to 1363. Kallistos I was an Athonite
monk and supporter of Gregory Palamas
. He died in Constantinople
in 1363.
and Gregory of Sinai
. He lived an ascetic
life as a monk at Mount Athos
in the Skete
of Magoula of the Monastery of Philotheou
for twenty eight years. He also founded the Monastery of St. Mamas at Tenedos
, a small island near the Dardanelles
.
of Constantinople in June 1350, succeeding Isidore I
. In 1351, he convened a synod
in Constantinople that finally established the Orthodoxy of Hesychasm
.
Kallistos I and the ecumenical patriarchs who succeeded him mounted a vigorous campaign to have the Palamite doctrine
accepted by the other Eastern patriarchates as well as all the metropolitan sees under their jurisdiction. However, it took some time to overcome initial resistance to the doctrine.
One example of resistance was the response of the Metropolitan of Kiev who, upon receiving tomes from Kallistos that expounded the Palamist doctrine, rejected the new doctrine vehemently and composed a reply refuting it.
According to Martin Jugie, contemporary historians depict Kallistos as a "doctrinaire and brutal man whose persecuting zeal it was necessary to restrain."
In 1353, Kallistos refused to crown Matthew Kantakouzenos
, son of emperor John VI Kantakouzenos
, as emperor with his father and, as a result, was deposed. After his deposition
, Callistus returned to Mount Athos. In 1354, after John VI abdicated, Kallistos returned as patriarch
. After his return, Callistus worked to strengthen the administration of the patriarchate. He reorganized the parish
system of churches under the surveillance of a patriarchal exarch
. He also strove to strengthen patriarchal control over various Orthodox church jurisdiction
s, even to the extent of excommunicating Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia, for establishing the Serbian archbishop
as an independent patriarch.
In 1355, Patr. Callistus of Constantinople wrote to the clergy
of Trnovo that those Latins who had baptized by single immersion should be re-baptized. He called the baptism by one immersion most improper and full of impiety. His view was based on the Apostolic canons which clearly state that those baptized by one immersion are not baptized and should be re-baptized.
as a member of the embassy of emperor John V Palaiologos
seeking aid from Helena of Bulgaria
, Empress of Serbia against the Ottoman Empire
. Of note is that St. Maximus of Kapsokalyvia prophesied the death of Patriarch Callistus. On his way to Serbia, Callistus traveled through Mount Athos. Seeing him, St. Maximus said, "This elder will never see his flock again for behind him is heard the funeral chant: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way" (Psalm 119:1).
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
monk and supporter of Gregory Palamas
Gregory Palamas
Gregory Palamas was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later the Archbishop of Thessaloniki known as a preeminent theologian of Hesychasm. The teachings embodied in his writings defending Hesychasm against the attack of Barlaam are sometimes referred to as Palamism, his followers as Palamites...
. He died in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1363.
Life
Nothing is known of Callistus' early life. He was a disciple of Gregory PalamasGregory Palamas
Gregory Palamas was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later the Archbishop of Thessaloniki known as a preeminent theologian of Hesychasm. The teachings embodied in his writings defending Hesychasm against the attack of Barlaam are sometimes referred to as Palamism, his followers as Palamites...
and Gregory of Sinai
Gregory of Sinai
Saint Gregory of Sinai was instrumental in the emergence of "technical" Hesychasm on Athos in the early 14th century....
. He lived an ascetic
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
life as a monk at Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
in the Skete
Skete
A Skete is a monastic style community that allows relative isolation for monks, but alsoallows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection...
of Magoula of the Monastery of Philotheou
Philotheou monastery
Filotheou monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. It stands on the north-eastern side of the peninsula.It was founded by the Blessed Philotheus, in the end of the 10th century...
for twenty eight years. He also founded the Monastery of St. Mamas at Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
, a small island near the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
.
Patriarchate
Kallistos was elected to the throne of the seeEpiscopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Constantinople in June 1350, succeeding Isidore I
Patriarch Isidore I of Constantinople
Isodore I was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1347 to 1350. Isidore Buchiras was a disciple of Gregory Palamas.-Early life:Little is known of his early life. Isidore was born in Thessaloniki during the latter part of the 1290s where he became a teacher and spiritual...
. In 1351, he convened a synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
in Constantinople that finally established the Orthodoxy of Hesychasm
Hesychasm
Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Byzantine Rite, practised by the Hesychast Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches,...
.
Kallistos I and the ecumenical patriarchs who succeeded him mounted a vigorous campaign to have the Palamite doctrine
Palamism
Palamism or the Palamite theology is the theological synthesis of Gregory Palamas who, in order to maintain that humans can become like God through deification without compromising God's transcendence, distinguished between God's inaccessible essence and the energies through which he becomes known...
accepted by the other Eastern patriarchates as well as all the metropolitan sees under their jurisdiction. However, it took some time to overcome initial resistance to the doctrine.
One example of resistance was the response of the Metropolitan of Kiev who, upon receiving tomes from Kallistos that expounded the Palamist doctrine, rejected the new doctrine vehemently and composed a reply refuting it.
According to Martin Jugie, contemporary historians depict Kallistos as a "doctrinaire and brutal man whose persecuting zeal it was necessary to restrain."
In 1353, Kallistos refused to crown Matthew Kantakouzenos
Matthew Kantakouzenos
Matthew Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357.-Life:...
, son of emperor John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
, as emperor with his father and, as a result, was deposed. After his deposition
Deposition (politics)
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch. It may be done by coup, impeachment, invasion or forced abdication...
, Callistus returned to Mount Athos. In 1354, after John VI abdicated, Kallistos returned as patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
. After his return, Callistus worked to strengthen the administration of the patriarchate. He reorganized the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
system of churches under the surveillance of a patriarchal exarch
Exarch
In the Byzantine Empire, an exarch was governor with extended authority of a province at some remove from the capital Constantinople. The prevailing situation frequently involved him in military operations....
. He also strove to strengthen patriarchal control over various Orthodox church jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
s, even to the extent of excommunicating Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia, for establishing the Serbian archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
as an independent patriarch.
In 1355, Patr. Callistus of Constantinople wrote to the clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
of Trnovo that those Latins who had baptized by single immersion should be re-baptized. He called the baptism by one immersion most improper and full of impiety. His view was based on the Apostolic canons which clearly state that those baptized by one immersion are not baptized and should be re-baptized.
Death
Patr. Callistus died in 1363 while he was en-route to SerresSerres
Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...
as a member of the embassy of emperor John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.-Biography:...
seeking aid from Helena of Bulgaria
Helena of Bulgaria
Jelena or Helena of Bulgaria was the daughter of Sratsimir of Kran and Keratsa Petritsa and the sister of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria....
, Empress of Serbia against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Of note is that St. Maximus of Kapsokalyvia prophesied the death of Patriarch Callistus. On his way to Serbia, Callistus traveled through Mount Athos. Seeing him, St. Maximus said, "This elder will never see his flock again for behind him is heard the funeral chant: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way" (Psalm 119:1).
See also
- PalamismPalamismPalamism or the Palamite theology is the theological synthesis of Gregory Palamas who, in order to maintain that humans can become like God through deification without compromising God's transcendence, distinguished between God's inaccessible essence and the energies through which he becomes known...
- Hesychast controversyHesychast controversyThe Hesychast controversy was a theological dispute in the Byzantine Empire during the 14th century between supporters and opponents of Gregory Palamas. While not a primary driver of the Byzantine Civil War, it influenced and was influenced by the political forces in play during that war...