Nicholas II Chrysoberges was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 984 to 996.

In 980, during the reign of Emperor Basil II

Basil II

Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...

, when Nicholas Chrysoberges was Ecumenical Patriarch, the Archangel Gabriel was believed to have appeared in the guise of a monk to the disciple of a certain monk at the Monastery of the Pantocrator

Pantokratoros monastery

Pantokratoros monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece. It stands on the north-eastern side of the Athos peninsula, and dedicated to the Transfiguration of Our Lord...

 in 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...

. The monk reported that the angel sang a new verse of the matins hymn, recorded on a slate still held at the monastery. Nicholas received the relic in the cathedral of Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...

. The Axion Estin

Axion Estin

Axion estin , or It is Truly Meet, is a theotokion, i.e. a Hymn to Mary , which is chanted in the Divine Services of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches...

is still sung in Orthodox services.

Nicholas' tenure also saw the completion of the Christianization of the Rus' and the appointment of the first metropolitan for Russia, Michael the Syrian.

Patriarch Nicholas was later canonized and is commemorated by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church on December 16.