Cyriacus II of Constantinople

Cyriacus II of Constantinople
Cyriacus II of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Installed	595
Term ended	29 October 606
Personal details
Died	29 October 606
Denomination	Chalcedonian Christianity

Cyriacus II of Constantinople (Greek: Κυριακός; died 29 October 606) was the thirtieth Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (595–606).

He was previously presbyter and steward, oikonomos, of the great church at Constantinople (Chronicon Paschale, p. 378). Pope Gregory I received the legates bearing the synodal letters which announced his consecration, partly from a desire not to disturb the peace of the church, and partly from the personal respect which he entertained for Cyriacus II; but in his reply he warned him against the sin of causing divisions in the church, clearly alluding to the use of the term oecumenical bishop, which Gregory I interpreted as meaning "universal" or even "exclusive" bishop (Gregory I, Ep. lib., vii, 4, Patrologia Latina, lxxvii, 853). The personal feelings of Gregory I towards Cyriacus II appear most friendly.

Cyriacus II did not attend to Gregory I's entreaties that he abstain from using the title, for Gregory I wrote afterwards both to him and to the Emperor Maurice, declaring that he could not allow his legates to remain in communion with Cyriacus II as long as he retained it. In the latter of these letters, he compares the assumption of the title to the sin of Antichrist, since both exhibit a spirit of lawless pride. "Quisquis se universalem sacerdotem vocat, vel vocari desiderat, in elatione sua Antichristum praecurrit" (whosoever calls himself universal priest, or desires to be called so, is the forerunner of the Antichrist) (Gregory I, Ep. 28, 30). In a letter to Anastasius I of Antioch, who had written to him to remonstrate against disturbing the peace of the church, Gregory defends his conduct on the ground of the injury which Cyriac had done to all other patriarchs by the assumption of the title and reminds Anastasius I that not only heretics but heresiarchs had before this been patriarchs of Constantinople. He also deprecates the use of the term on more general grounds (Ep. 24). In spite of all this Cyriacus II was firm in his retention of the title, and appears to have summoned, or to have meditated summoning, a council to authorise its use. For in 599, Gregory wrote to Eusebius of Thessalonica and some other bishops, stating that he had heard they were about to be summoned to a council at Constantinople, and most urgently entreating them to yield neither to force nor to persuasion, but to be steadfast in their refusal to recognize the offensive title (ib. lib. ix, 68 in Patrologia Latina).

Cyriacus II appears to have shared in that unpopularity of the emperor Maurice which caused his deposition and death (Theophanes the Confessor, Chronicle, A. M. 6094; Niceph. Callis., H. E., xviii, 40; Theophylact. Hist. viii, 9). He still, however, had influence enough to exact from Emperor Phocas at his coronation a confession of the orthodox faith and a pledge not to disturb the church (Theophanes Chronicle, A. M. 6094). He also nobly resisted the attempt of Phocas to drag the empress Constantina and her daughters from their sanctuary in a church of Constantinople (ibid., A. M. 6098).

Perhaps some resentment at this opposition to his will may have induced Phocas to accede more readily to the claims of Pope Boniface III that Rome should be considered to be the head of all the church, in exclusion of the claims of Constantinople to the oecumenical bishopric (Vita Bonifacii III, in Philippe Labbe, Acta Concil, t. v.1615).

Cyriacus II died in 606 and was interred in the church of the Holy Apostles (Chronicon Paschale, p. 381). He appears to have been a man of remarkable piety and earnestness, able to win the esteem of all parties. He built a church dedicated to the theotokos in a street of Constantinople called Diaconissa (Theophanes Chronicle, A. M. 6090; Niceph. Callis., H. E., xviii, 42).

Notes and references

Attribution

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C., eds. (1911). "Cyriacus II, patriarch of Constantinople". Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century (3rd ed.). London: John Murray.

Titles of Chalcedonian Christianity
Preceded by John IV	Patriarch of Constantinople 596 – 606	Succeeded by Thomas I

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