Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople
Encyclopedia
Eutychius considered a saint
in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian
traditions, was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 552 to 565, and from 577 to 582. His feast is kept by the Byzantine Church on 6 April, and he is mentioned in the Catholic Church's "Corpus Iuris". His terms of office, occurring during the reign of Emperor
Justinian the Great, were marked by controversies with both imperial and papal authority.
. His father, Alexander, was a general under the famous Thracian-Byzantine commander Belisarius
. Eutychius became a monk at Amasea at the age of 30. As an archimandrite
at Constantinople
, Eutychius was well respected by Mennas
. Eventually, on the day Mennas died, Eutychius was nominated by Justinian the Great to replace the position Mennas had held.
was in Constantinople when Eutychius became patriarch.
Eutychius sent him the usual announcement of his own appointment and a completely orthodox profession of the then-united Church. At the same time, the Pope urged him to summon and preside over the Church Council summoned to deal with the Three Chapters Controversy. Vigilius first gave, and then withdrew, his consent to the Council. In spite of the Pope's refusal, the council met on 5 May 553 at Constantinople, and Eutychius shared the first place in the assembly with the Apollinarius of Alexandria
and Domninus, called Domnus III of Antioch. At the second session, the pope excused himself again on the grounds of ill health. The subscription of Eutychius to the Acts of this synod, which was later recognized as the Fifth General Council
and which concluded on 2 June 553, is a summary of the decrees against the Three Chapters.
Eutychius had, so far, stood by the Emperor throughout. He composed the decree of the Council against The Chapters. In 562, he consecrated the new church of Hagia Sophia
. However, Eutychius came into violent collision with Justinian in 564, when the Emperor adopted the tenets of the Aphthartodocetae
, a sect of Non-Chalcedonians who believed that Christ
's body on earth was incorruptible (’aphthorá) and subject to no pain.
Eutychius, in a long address, argued the incompatibility of the Aphthartodocetic beliefs with Scripture. Emperor Justinian insisted that he subscribe to it anyway. When Eutychius refused to compromise, Justinian ordered his arrest. On 22 January 565, Eutychius was celebrating the feast day of St. Timotheus in the church
adjoining the Hormisdas palace when soldiers broke into the patriarchal residence, entered the church, and carried him away.
. Eight days later Justinian called an assembly of princes and prelates, to which he summoned Eutychius. The charges against him were trivial: that he used ointments, ate "delicate meats", and prayed for long periods. After being summoned three times, Eutychius replied that he would only come if he were to be judged canonically, in his own dignity, and in command of his clergy. Condemned by default, he was sent to an island in the Propontis named Principus
("Prince's Island"), and later to his old monastery at Amasea, where he spent 12 years and 5 months.
, whom Justinian had put in the patriarchal chair, the people of Constantinople demanded the return of Eutychius. Justin II
had succeeded Justinian in 565 and had associated with himself the young Tiberius
. In October 577 the emperors sent a delegation to Amasea to bring Eutychius back to Constantinople. Contemporary reports claim that as he entered the city, a large group of people met him, shouting aloud, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord," and "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace". In imitation of the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem (recorded in Matthew
21:1-11 and John
12;12-18), he entered the city on an ass's colt, over garments spread on the ground, the crowd carrying palms, dancing, and singing. The whole city was illuminated, public banquets were held, and new buildings were inaugurated.
The next day he met with the two emperors and was given "conspicuous honor" at the Church of the Virgin
in Blachernae
. He then proceeded to the great church, mounted the pulpit, and blessed the many people. It took him six hours to distribute the communion because all of the people wished to receive it from his own hands.
, opposed this opinion, citing Luke
24:39. Emperor Tiberius talked to the disputants separately, and tried to reconcile them, but the breach was persistent.
Eutychius died quietly on the Sunday after Easter
, at the age of 70. Some of his friends later told Pope Gregory that a few minutes before his death he touched the skin of his hand and said, "I confess that in this flesh we shall rise again", (a rough quote of Job
19:26).
Among his pupils was Eustratios of Constantinople
who wrote a tract against soul sleep.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
traditions, was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 552 to 565, and from 577 to 582. His feast is kept by the Byzantine Church on 6 April, and he is mentioned in the Catholic Church's "Corpus Iuris". His terms of office, occurring during the reign of Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Justinian the Great, were marked by controversies with both imperial and papal authority.
Early life
Eutychius' career is well documented: a full biography, composed by his chaplain Eustathius of Constantinople, was preserved intact. Eutychius was born at Theium in PhrygiaPhrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
. His father, Alexander, was a general under the famous Thracian-Byzantine commander Belisarius
Belisarius
Flavius Belisarius was a general of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Emperor Justinian's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Mediterranean territory of the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century previously....
. Eutychius became a monk at Amasea at the age of 30. As an archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
at 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:...
, Eutychius was well respected by Mennas
Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople
Menas or Mennas or Minas or Mina, a Christian saint was appointed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I as Patriarch of Constantinople in 536. Pope Agapetus I consecrated him to succeed Bishop Anthimus, who was a monophysite. He took a position against Origen...
. Eventually, on the day Mennas died, Eutychius was nominated by Justinian the Great to replace the position Mennas had held.
First Patriarchy
Pope VigiliusPope Vigilius
Pope Vigilius reigned as pope from 537 to 555, is considered the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy.-Early life:He belonged to a aristocratic Roman family; his father Johannes is identified as a consul in the Liber pontificalis, having received that title from the emperor...
was in Constantinople when Eutychius became patriarch.
Eutychius sent him the usual announcement of his own appointment and a completely orthodox profession of the then-united Church. At the same time, the Pope urged him to summon and preside over the Church Council summoned to deal with the Three Chapters Controversy. Vigilius first gave, and then withdrew, his consent to the Council. In spite of the Pope's refusal, the council met on 5 May 553 at Constantinople, and Eutychius shared the first place in the assembly with the Apollinarius of Alexandria
Patriarch Apollinarius of Alexandria
-References:...
and Domninus, called Domnus III of Antioch. At the second session, the pope excused himself again on the grounds of ill health. The subscription of Eutychius to the Acts of this synod, which was later recognized as the Fifth General Council
Second Council of Constantinople
The Second Council of Constantinople is recognized as the Fifth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups. It was held from May 5 to June 2, 553, having been called by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian...
and which concluded on 2 June 553, is a summary of the decrees against the Three Chapters.
Eutychius had, so far, stood by the Emperor throughout. He composed the decree of the Council against The Chapters. In 562, he consecrated the new church of Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
. However, Eutychius came into violent collision with Justinian in 564, when the Emperor adopted the tenets of the Aphthartodocetae
Aphthartodocetae
The Aphthartodocetae were members of a 6th century Non-Chalcedonian sect. Their leader Julian, Bishop of Halicarnassus taught that Christ's body was always incorruptible...
, a sect of Non-Chalcedonians who believed that Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
's body on earth was incorruptible (’aphthorá) and subject to no pain.
Eutychius, in a long address, argued the incompatibility of the Aphthartodocetic beliefs with Scripture. Emperor Justinian insisted that he subscribe to it anyway. When Eutychius refused to compromise, Justinian ordered his arrest. On 22 January 565, Eutychius was celebrating the feast day of St. Timotheus in the church
Little Hagia Sophia
Little Hagia Sophia , formerly the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus , is a former Eastern Orthodox church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople, later converted into a mosque during the Ottoman Empire....
adjoining the Hormisdas palace when soldiers broke into the patriarchal residence, entered the church, and carried him away.
Arrest and exile
Eutychius was first removed to a monastery called Choracudis, and the next day to the monastery of St. Osias near ChalcedonChalcedon
Chalcedon , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari . It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy...
. Eight days later Justinian called an assembly of princes and prelates, to which he summoned Eutychius. The charges against him were trivial: that he used ointments, ate "delicate meats", and prayed for long periods. After being summoned three times, Eutychius replied that he would only come if he were to be judged canonically, in his own dignity, and in command of his clergy. Condemned by default, he was sent to an island in the Propontis named Principus
Büyükada
Büyükada is the largest of the nine so-called Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, with an area of about two square miles...
("Prince's Island"), and later to his old monastery at Amasea, where he spent 12 years and 5 months.
Return and second patriarchate
Upon the death of Joannes ScholasticusJohn Scholasticus
John Scholasticus was the 32nd patriarch of Constantinople from April 12, 565 until his death in 577. He is also regarded as a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church....
, whom Justinian had put in the patriarchal chair, the people of Constantinople demanded the return of Eutychius. Justin II
Justin II
Justin II was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy...
had succeeded Justinian in 565 and had associated with himself the young Tiberius
Tiberius II Constantine
Tiberius II Constantine was Byzantine Emperor from 574 to 582.During his reign, Tiberius II Constantine gave away 7,200 pounds of gold each year for four years....
. In October 577 the emperors sent a delegation to Amasea to bring Eutychius back to Constantinople. Contemporary reports claim that as he entered the city, a large group of people met him, shouting aloud, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord," and "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace". In imitation of the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem (recorded in Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
21:1-11 and John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
12;12-18), he entered the city on an ass's colt, over garments spread on the ground, the crowd carrying palms, dancing, and singing. The whole city was illuminated, public banquets were held, and new buildings were inaugurated.
The next day he met with the two emperors and was given "conspicuous honor" at the Church of the Virgin
Church of St. Mary of Blachernae (Istanbul)
Saint Mary of Blachernae is an Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul...
in Blachernae
Blachernae
Blachernae was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It was the site of a spring and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great Church of St. Mary of Blachernae , built by Empress Pulcheria in circa 450,...
. He then proceeded to the great church, mounted the pulpit, and blessed the many people. It took him six hours to distribute the communion because all of the people wished to receive it from his own hands.
Late beliefs and death
Toward the end of his life, Eutychius maintained an opinion that after the resurrection the body will be "more subtle than air" and no longer a tangible thing. This was considered heretical, because it was taken as a denial of the doctrine of physical, corporeal resurrection. The future Pope Gregory the Great, then residing at Constantinople as ApocrisiariusApocrisiarius
An apocrisiarius, the Latinized form of apokrisiarios , sometimes Anglicized as apocrisiary, was a high diplomatic representative during Late Antiquity and the early medieval period. The corresponding Latin term was responsalis...
, opposed this opinion, citing Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
24:39. Emperor Tiberius talked to the disputants separately, and tried to reconcile them, but the breach was persistent.
Eutychius died quietly on the Sunday after Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, at the age of 70. Some of his friends later told Pope Gregory that a few minutes before his death he touched the skin of his hand and said, "I confess that in this flesh we shall rise again", (a rough quote of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
19:26).
Among his pupils was Eustratios of Constantinople
Eustratios of Constantinople
Eustratios, Presbyter of Constantinople was a pupil of Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople and writer.He is remembered as the author of a tract against belief in soul sleep entitled A Refutation of Those Who Say That the Souls of the Dead Are Not Active and Receive No Benefit from the Prayers...
who wrote a tract against soul sleep.
Extant works by Eutychius
His literary remains are:- Letter to Pope Vigilius (MigneJacques Paul MigneJacques Paul Migne was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely-distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a universal library for the Catholic priesthood.He was born at Saint-Flour, Cantal and studied...
, P. L.Patrologia LatinaThe Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
, LXIX, 63, P.G. LXXXVI, 2401) - "Discourse on Easter" (fragment) (Mai: Class. Auct. X, 488, and Script. Vet. Nov Coll. IX, 623); and other fragments found in P.G., LXXXVI.