In 1848, a prominent religious figure of the 9th century, the Byzantine Patriarch Photius I, was twice elevated to the holy throne and deposed as many times from it as the saints was canonized by the Orthodox Church of Constantinople. Having become a victim of political intrigue, he died in exile, leaving behind a number of works of great historical value.
A child from an Armenian family
The exact date of birth of the Byzantine Patriarch Photius I has not been established, but researchers believe that this event dates back to the first quarter of the 9th century. It is known for certain that he was born in a rich and pious family of Armenian origin, who settled in Constantinople and had family ties with very high-ranking persons of that time. So, the boy’s father was a nephew to the Patriarch of Tarasius of Constantinople (730-806), and his mother was closely related to another Primate of the Byzantine church, John IV the Grammar (late 8th century - 867)
Both of them professed Christianity, adhering to the principles established by the IV Ecumenical Council, held in the Greek city of Chalcedon in the summer of 451. They are based on the dogma of the unity of the person of Jesus Christ and of the unimaginability of his two natures - divine and human. At the venue of the cathedral, this direction of Christian doctrine is called Chalcedonian theology. It was he who throughout all ages was preached by the Russian Orthodox Church.
In an atmosphere of religious struggle
It is known that during the VIII – IX centuries. the Byzantine spiritual life was formed under the influence of the mass religious and political movement aimed at the struggle against the veneration of icons (iconoclasm). This became the reason for the disgrace and subsequent exile of the father of the future patriarch Photius, who held a different position - generally accepted today. Separated from the family and ranked as heretic, he died in exile in about 832.
While the main opponent of icon veneration, Emperor Theophilus, was alive, the family went through extremely difficult times, but with the accession to the throne of his crowned successor Michael III, a man holding very liberal views, the situation changed for the better. Thanks to this, Photius, who had already managed to get a fairly complete education, began teaching, and soon among his students there appeared children from the most distinguished families of Constantinople.
At the court of the emperor
In the biography of Patriarch Photius, this period of life marks the beginning of rapid career growth. In the early 840s, he became one of the emperor’s associates and received a very prestigious position as the head of his personal office, and later took part in the embassy directed to the Arab caliph. Once at the court, Photius did not forget about his brothers - Konstantin, Sergey and Tarasia, who, thanks to his patronage, also received advantageous places.
This period includes the writing of his first treatise, called "Miriobiblion," which was a brief retelling of 280 books he had read, both spiritual and secular. Subsequently, Patriarch Photius became the author of numerous works, but this is of particular value in view of the fact that it allows you to get an idea of the intellectual foundation that laid the foundation of all his multifaceted activities. The manuscript was sent to him by his brother Sergey, which is why it is often referred to in modern literature as the "First Message of Patriarch Photius."
The new henchman of the emperor
The following decade brought significant changes to the political life of Byzantium. They began with the fact that in 856, Emperor Michael III, extremely tired of conducting state affairs and wanting to transfer them to reliable hands, exalted the sibling of the Dowager Empress Theodora - Varda, giving him the title of Caesar and making him second in the palace hierarchy.
Taking advantage of the opportunities, Varda for the next ten years was actually the sole ruler of Byzantium. Patriarch Photius, according to historians, owes much of his further ascent to this fact. The choice made by the emperor was very successful, and the ruler appointed by him went down in history as an outstanding politician, military leader, and also the patron of science, art and education.
At the head of the Church of Constantinople
One of the first acts of Caesar was the removal of the former Patriarch of Constantinople Ignatius and the construction of Photius in his place, who immediately became involved in a fierce struggle between church parties and groups. The tension in the clergy was caused by the fact that a significant number of its members remained supporters of the ousted Patriarch Ignatius and, having opposed the new head of the church, enjoyed the patronage of Roman Pope Nicholas I. To support his nominee, Caesar Varda initiated the convocation of the Local Council, at which Ignatius was convicted. and the adoption of a series of canonical decrees against him, which only added fuel to the fire.
The Fotiev Schism
According to contemporaries, Pope Nicholas I was extremely ambitious, and any decision taken without his consent was perceived as a personal insult. As a result, when he learned about the removal of Patriarch Ignatius and the construction of another person in his place, he considered this a declaration of war. Relations between Rome and Constantinople have long been tense due to disputes regarding the jurisdiction of Southern Italy and Bulgaria, but the election of the patriarch Photius in Byzantium was a drop that overflowed the cup.
In 863, the angry pope convened the Ecumenical Council in Rome, at which he excommunicated Photius, accusing him of heresy and of violating all the foundations of the true faith. He did not remain in debt and, having gathered in Constantinople the whole Orthodox episcopate, anathematized the Roman pontiff. The result was a rather amusing situation: the two main Christian hierarchs tore each other out of the bosom of the Church, and legally both were out of the legal field. In the history of their strife came under the name of "Fotiev schism."
First Opal and Link
Meanwhile, while the heads of the two main directions of Christianity sorted out relations, very important events took place in Constantinople. First of all, by means of intrigue, the clever and unprincipled courtier Vasily the Great, who later became the founder of a powerful ruling dynasty, managed to rise. Having sent hired killers to Caesar Ward, he took his place near the throne, and then, having dealt with Michael III himself in the same way, he was crowned as the new emperor of Byzantium. Patriarch Photius was aware of the whole danger hanging over him, but could not change anything.
Having become the sole ruler of the state, the usurper immediately returned to the throne the disgraced Ignatius, and Photius deposed and sent into exile. Soon he was repeatedly anathematized, but this time not by the Latins, but by the Orthodox hierarchs who gathered in 869 at the Council of Constantinople. Together with him, all the bishops whom he had previously placed were out of work.
Homecoming
This gloomy period in the life of Patriarch Photius and his supporters did not last long, and only three years later the banks of the Bosphorus were again fanned by the wind of change. Ignatius, who imagined himself, quarreled with the pope, having paid back with black ingratitude for the support he had provided earlier, which caused extreme displeasure among the newly-made emperor Vasily I. He regretted that he offended Photius, and having returned him from exile, he placed his sons as a tutor .
Being engaged in pedagogical activities, the rehabilitated hierarch devoted time to compiling important historical documents. During this period, the famous “Nomocanon of the Patriarch Photius in the XIV Titles” was published - a collection of fourteen chapters containing an extensive list of imperial decrees and church rules relating to various aspects of the Byzantine religious life. This work immortalized the name of the author, becoming the handbook of many generations of historians.
New disgrace and the death of the patriarch
It is not known how events unfolded, but Patriarch Ignatius guessed to die in time, and Photius took his place, leading the Church, from which he had only recently been excommunicated by the decision of the Local Council. Everything, it would seem, was back to square one, and even the very bishops who recently poured mud on him were already in a hurry to kiss their hand. However, the life story of this church hierarch was never crowned by a happy end so coveted by all. Just a year later, the mocker-fate again played an evil trick on him and this time the last joke.
In 888, Emperor Vasily I unexpectedly died. This sometimes happens with the rulers of the world if successors cannot wait for their time. The new ruler of Byzantium, Leo VI, barely returning from the funeral, issued a decree on the next deposition of Patriarch Photius and sending him to places "not so remote." He entrusted the leadership of the Church to his eighteen-year-old brother Stephen. Not having committed any notable deeds in this field, he entered the history of Christianity only as the youngest patriarch.
Ironically, the place of exile of the disgraced Patriarch Photius was Armenia, from which his ancestors had once migrated to Byzantium. Finding himself in unusual conditions and torn by severe mental suffering, he fell ill and died in the spring of 896, without waiting for the triumph of justice, which happened only after nine and a half centuries.
Glorification in the face of saints
In 1848, when Patriarch Anfim IV was at the head of the Church of Constantinople, Photius, who died almost nine and a half centuries ago, was canonized and glorified in the guise of saints, that is, persons from among church hierarchs who showed a pattern of service to God in the days of their earthly life, and after deaths marked by miracles revealed through their imperishable relics. Since then, the memory of the Patriarch of Constantinople, St. Photius, is celebrated annually on February 6 (19).
Researchers believe that the true cause of canonization should be sought in the bitter struggle that unfolded in the East between the Orthodox Church and representatives of Western Christianity.
The “Life of Patriarch Photius” speaks of the miracles that took place at his grave for many centuries and made it the object of mass pilgrimage.
Byzantine saint, not accepted in Russia
For many centuries, the preachers sent by Rome to the Ottomans had been active in converting Muslims and representatives of other religions to Catholicism, which went against the interests of the Orthodox Church. In this regard, a number of Orthodox hierarchs, who once carried out fruitful activities on the territory of Byzantium, were canonized as a sign that this particular direction of Christianity opens the way to the Kingdom of God.
In the middle of the XIX century, they recalled the disgraced primate of the church, who died in a foreign land in 896. His candidacy was perfectly suited, all the more so since the Nomocanon of the Patriarch Photius, mentioned above, had by then become widely known in scientific and church circles.
The canonization initiated by Patriarch Anfim VI of Constantinople took place, but was rejected by the leadership of the Russian Synodal Church, for reasons that were more political in nature than dogmatic.
The argument convincing K. Pobedonostsev
Between the representatives of the two Churches, a struggle began in which many prominent public and religious figures of Russia spoke on the side of Constantinople. Such, for example, as the famous historian I. Troitsky - the author of a major work devoted to the "District Epistle of Patriarch Photius", which refers to the beginning of the spread of Christianity among the "tribes of the Russians" - as its author refers to the Eastern Slavs. A photo of an ancient miniature dedicated to this event is given above.
Attaching great importance to the activities of the Byzantine missionaries, Troitsky sees it as a kind of first Baptism of Russia, which, of course, should not be taken literally. However, thanks to such a compelling argument, Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K. Pobedonostsev was forced to back down. Since then, the name of St. Photius began to be mentioned in church calendars. And now every year on February 19 in Russia they honor his memory and offer prayers addressed to him.