Michael III of Constantinople

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Michael III of Constantinople
Church of Constantinople
In officeJanuary 1170 – March 1178
PredecessorLuke Chrysoberges
SuccessorChariton of Constantinople
Personal details
Born?
DiedMarch 1178

Michael III of

Patriarch of Constantinople
from January 1170 to March 1178.

Michael was appointed patriarch by the

Holy Trinity. The issue was created due to the explanation that one Demetrius of Lampi (in Phrygia) gave to the phrase of the Gospel of John «ὁ Πατήρ μου μείζων μου ἐστίν», which means my Father is bigger than me (John, XIV.29). Michael acted as the Emperor's chief spokesman on this issue. Michael also ordered a review of Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical and imperial laws and decrees by Theodore Balsamon known as the "Scholia
" (Greek: Σχόλια) (c. 1170).

Michael's patriarchy was marked by the Emperor Manuel's attempts to forge a union with the Catholic Church. Continuing a longstanding papal policy, Alexander III demanded recognition of their religious authority over all Christians everywhere, and wished themselves to reach superiority over the Byzantine Emperor; they were not at all willing to fall into a state of dependence from one emperor to the other.[4] Manuel, on the other side, wanted an official recognition of his secular authority over both East and West.[5] Such conditions would not be accepted by either side. Even if a pro-western Emperor such as Manuel agreed to it, the Greek citizens of the Empire would have rejected outright any union of this sort, as they did almost three hundred years later when the Orthodox and Catholic churches were briefly united under the Pope. In existing correspondence Michael presents a deeply courteous but unbending position on the authority of his Church. The correspondence also show a good working relationship with the Emperor.

Some of Michael III's correspondence with Manuel I survive,

apocryphal creations of the 13th century.[8] Michael III can also take credit for acting as patron to the young Michael Choniates, who composed an encomium in his honour, still extant.[9]

References

  1. ^ Magdalino, p. 301.
  2. ^ Kazhdan 1991, p. 964.
  3. ^ Hussey, p. 155.
  4. ^ A. A. Vasiliev, History of the Byzantine Empire (1952) chapter 7 in passim
  5. ^ J.W. Birkenmeier, The Development of the Komnenian Army, 114
  6. ^ P. Magdalino, The Empire of Manuel I Komnenos, p. 21.
  7. ^ R. Browning, "A New Source on Byzantine-Hungarian Relations", Balkan Studies, 2 (1961), pp. 173–214
  8. ^ Hussey, p. 173.
  9. ^ P. Magdalino, p. 301.

Sources

  • Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο
  • J. M. Hussey. The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire. Oxford: University Press, 1986.
  • ISBN 0-19-504652-8
    .
  • Kurtz, Johann Heinrich (1860). "Dogmatic Controversies, 12th and 14th Centuries". History of the Christian Church to the Reformation. T. & T. Clark.
  • ISBN 0-521-52653-1
    .
Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by
Patriarch of Constantinople

1170–1178 		Succeeded by
Chariton
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