Patriarch Isidore I of Constantinople
Encyclopedia
Isodore I was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1347 to 1350. Isidore Buchiras was a disciple of Gregory Palamas
.
during the latter part of the 1290s where he became a teacher and spiritual guide.
over Hesychasm
during the middle decades of the fourteenth century.
elect of Monemvasia
, and Gregory Palamas
were excommunicated
by a synod
of anti-hesychast bishops that had been convened by Patriarch John XIV Kalekas
who himself was an opponent of St. Gregory.
Palamas and Buchiras recanted.
, Patr. John XIV was deposed
and Isidore brought back and elected to succeed John XIV as patriarch
of Constantinople. Upon becoming patriarch, Isidore released Gregory Palamas from prison and consecrated him Archbishop
of Thessalonica.
. He selected bishops only from the Palamite party. He instituted harsh penalties for those who refused to submit.
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...
.
Early life
Little is known of his early life. Isidore was born in ThessalonikiThessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
during the latter part of the 1290s where he became a teacher and spiritual guide.
Career
As a disciple of St. Gregory, he was drawn into the dispute between the followers of Gregory Palamas and Barlaam of CalabriaBarlaam of Calabria
Barlaam of Seminara , ca. 1290-1348, or Barlaam of Calabria was a southern Italian scholar and clergyman of the 14th century. Humanist, philologist, and theologian. He brought an accusation of heresy against Gregory Palamas for the latter's defence of Hesychasm...
over 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,...
during the middle decades of the fourteenth century.
Synod of 1344
In 1345, Isidore, who was at the time the bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
elect of Monemvasia
Monemvasia
Monemvasia is a town and a municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small peninsula off the east coast of the Peloponnese. The peninsula is linked to the mainland by a short causeway 200m in length. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 metres above sea level, up to...
, and 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...
were excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
by 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...
of anti-hesychast bishops that had been convened by Patriarch John XIV Kalekas
Patriarch John XIV of Constantinople
John XIV, surnamed Kalekas was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1334 to 1347. He was an anti-hesychast and opponent of Gregory Palamas. He was an active participant in the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 as a member of the regency for John V Palaiologos, against John VI...
who himself was an opponent of St. Gregory.
Palamas and Buchiras recanted.
Synods of 1347
In February 1347, during a synod convened by emperor John VI KantakouzenosJohn 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...
, Patr. John XIV was deposed
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...
and Isidore brought back and elected to succeed John XIV 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...
of Constantinople. Upon becoming patriarch, Isidore released Gregory Palamas from prison and consecrated him 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...
of Thessalonica.
Patriarchate
During the two and a half years of his patriarchate, Isidore sought to have the whole Byzantine Church accept the Palamite dogmasPalamism
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...
. He selected bishops only from the Palamite party. He instituted harsh penalties for those who refused to submit.