Euphemius of Constantinople

Euphemius of Constantinople
Euphemius of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Installed	490
Term ended	496
Personal details
Denomination	Chalcedonian Christianity

Euphemius of Constantinople (Greek: Εὐφήμιος; died 515) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (490–496). Theophanes calls him Euthymius.^[1]^[2] Prior to his appointment, Euphemius was a presbyter of Constantinople, administrator of a hospital for the poor at Neapolis, unsuspected of any Eutychian leanings, and is described as learned and very virtuous.^[2]

Acacian schism

In 482,

Fravitta, his successor, applied for recognition at Rome, but in vain, since he would not give up communion with Peter Mongus.^[1]

Euphemius immediately recognized the Council of Chalcedon, restored the pope's name to his diptychs, and broke with Peter Mongus, who died in October of the year of Euphemius's accession (490).[2] By these acts, he showed his desire to heal the rift with Rome.^[1] Unfortunately, he still refused to erase the names of his two predecessors (Acacius and Fravitta) from the diptychs, where they appeared among the faithful departed.^[2] Pope Felix insisted that heretics and favourers of heresy should not be prayed for publicly; Euphemius repeated his attempts at reconciliation to Pope Gelasius I, but the problem of his predecessors remained; Euphemius could not remove their names from the diptychs without causing embarrassment or insult to those they had baptized and ordained.^[1] Gelasius allowed that in other circumstances he would have written to announce his election, but sourly observes that the custom existed only between bishops who were united in communion, and was not to be extended to those who, like Euphemius, preferred a strange alliance to that with St. Peter. As a mark of condescension Gelasius granted the canonical remedy to all who had been baptised and ordained by Acacius.^[2]

Anastasius I to ask for peace. During their sojourn at Constantinople the envoys received complaints from the Greeks against the Roman church, which they reported to the pope. Euphemius urged that the condemnation of Acacius by one prelate only was invalid; to excommunicate a metropolitan of Constantinople a general council was necessary.^[3]

Patriarch and Emperor

Before the accession of the Emperor Anastasius I, Euphemius had made him sign a profession of faith;[4] eventually he fell foul of the emperor. As the Isaurian War was then under way, Euphemius was accused of treason by revealing the emperor's plans to his enemies. A soldier, either by Anastasius's own order or to gain his favour, drew his sword on Euphemius at the door of the sacristy, but was struck down by an attendant. The emperor further wanted back his written profession of faith, which Euphemius refused to give up, so Anastasius assembled the bishops who were in the capital and preferred charges against their patriarch, whom they obsequiously excommunicated and deposed (496). The people loyally refused to surrender him, but inevitably yielded to the emperor.^[1]^[2]

Meanwhile, Euphemius, fearing for his life, sought sanctuary in the

Ancyra. He was recognized to the end as lawful patriarch by his peers in the East who included Elias of Jerusalem Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Patriarch Flavian II of Antioch.^[1]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Fortescue 1909.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Sinclair 1911.
^ Sinclair 1911 cites Vict. Tun. Chron. viii. 16
^ Fortescue 1909 cites Evagrius, H.E., III, xxxii.

Attribution

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Fortescue, Adrian (1909). "Euphemius of Constantinople". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Sinclair, W. M. (1911). "Euphemius, patriarch of Constantinople". In Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C. (eds.). Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century (3rd ed.). London: John Murray.

Titles of Chalcedonian Christianity
Preceded by Fravitta	Patriarch of Constantinople 489–495	Succeeded by Macedonius II

[FOOTNOTEFortescue1909-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Fortescue 1909.

[FOOTNOTESinclair1911-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Sinclair 1911.

[3] Sinclair 1911 cites Vict. Tun. Chron. viii. 16

[4] Fortescue 1909 cites Evagrius, H.E., III, xxxii.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Bishops of Byzantium and Patriarchs of Constantinople
Bishops of Byzantium (Roman period, 38–330 AD)	Andrew Stachys Onesimus Polycarpus I Plutarch Sedecion Diogenes Eleutherius Felix Polycarpus II Athenodorus Euzois Laurence Alypius Pertinax Olympianus Marcus I Philadelphus Cyriacus I Castinus Eugenius I Titus Dometius Rufinus Probus Metrophanes Alexander
Archbishops of Constantinople (Roman period, 330–451 AD)	Alexander Paul I Eusebius Macedonius I Eudoxius Evagrius Demophilus Maximus I Gregory I Nectarius John I Chrysostom Arsacius Atticus Sisinnius I Nestorius Maximianus Proclus Flavian Anatolius
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Byzantine period, 451–1453 AD)	Anatolius Gennadius I Acacius Fravitta Euphemius Macedonius II Timothy I John II Epiphanius Anthimus I Menas Eutychius John III John IV Cyriacus II Thomas I Sergius I Pyrrhus Paul II Peter Thomas II John V Constantine I Theodore I George I Paul III Callinicus I Cyrus John VI Germanus I Anastasius Constantine II Nicetas I Paul IV Tarasius Nicephorus I Theodotus I Antony I John VII Methodius I Ignatios Photios I Stephen I Antony II Nicholas I Εuthymius I Stephen II Tryphon Theophylact Polyeuctus Βasil I Αntony III Nicholas II Sisinnius II Sergius II Eustathius Alexius Michael I Constantine III John VIII Cosmas I Eustratius Nicholas III John IX Leo Michael II Cosmas II Nicholas IV Theodotus II Neophytus I Constantine IV Luke Michael III Chariton Theodosius I Basil II Nicetas II Leontius Dositheus George II John X Michael IV^† Theodore II^† Maximus II^† Μanuel I^† Germanus II^† Methodius II^† Manuel II^† Arsenius^† Nicephorus II^† Germanus III Joseph I John XI Gregory II Athanasius I John XII Nephon I John XIII Gerasimus I Isaias John XIV Isidore I Callistus I Philotheus Macarius Nilus Antony IV Callistus II Matthew I Euthymius II Joseph II Metrophanes II Gregory III Athanasius II
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Ottoman period, 1453–1923 AD)	Gennadius II Isidore II Joasaph I Sophronius I Mark II Symeon I Dionysius I Raphael I Maximus III Nephon II Maximus IV Joachim I Pachomius I Theoleptus I Jeremias I Joannicius I Dionysius II Joasaph II Metrophanes III Jeremias II Pachomius II Theoleptus II Matthew II Gabriel I Theophanes I Meletius I Neophytus II Raphael II Cyril I Timothy II Gregory IV Anthimus II Cyril II Athanasius III Neophytus III Parthenius I Parthenius II Joannicius II Cyril III Paisius I Parthenius III Gabriel II Parthenius IV Dionysius III Clement Methodius III Dionysius IV Gerasimus II Athanasius IV James Callinicus II Neophytus IV Gabriel III Neophytus V Cyprianus Athanasius V Cyril IV Cosmas III Jeremias III (Callinicus III) Paisius II Seraphim I Neophytus VI Cyril V Callinicus IV (III) Seraphim II Joannicius III Samuel Meletius II Theodosius II Sophronius II Gabriel IV Procopius Neophytus VII Gerasimus III Gregory V Callinicus V (IV) Jeremias IV Cyril VI Eugenius II Anthimus III Chrysanthus Agathangelus Constantius I Constantius II Gregory VI Anthimus IV Anthimus V Germanus IV Meletius III Anthimus VI Cyril VII Joachim II Sophronius III Joachim III Joachim IV Dionysius V Neophytus VIII Anthimus VII Constantine V Germanus V Meletius IV
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Turkish period, since 1923 AD)	Gregory VII Constantine VI Basil III Photius II Benjamin Maximus V Athenagoras Demetrius Bartholomew
^† in exile at Nicaea Christianity portal