Tarasios of Constantinople | |
|---|---|
 Icon of Saint Tarasios, Patriarch of Constantinople (Johann Conrad Dorner, 1848–1852) | |
| Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
| Born | c. 730 Constantinople |
| Died | 25 February 806 Constantinople |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church, Catholic Church |
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Feast | 18 February (Catholic Church) (General Roman Calendar)[1] 25 February (Eastern Orthodox Churches) |
| Attributes | Vested as abishop withomophorion often holding aGospel book with his right hand raised inblessing |
Tarasios of Constantinople | |
|---|---|
| Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
| Installed | 25 December 784 |
| Term ended | 25 February 806 |
| Predecessor | Paul IV of Constantinople |
| Successor | Nicephorus I of Constantinople |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 730 |
| Died | 25 February 806 |
| Denomination | Chalcedonian Christianity |
Tarasios of Constantinople (alsoSaint Tarasius andSaint Tarasios;Greek:Ταράσιος;c. 730 – 25 February 806) was theEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 25 December 784 until his death on 25 February 806.
Tarasios was born and raised in the city ofConstantinople. A son of a high-ranking judge, Tarasios was related to important families, including that of the later PatriarchPhotios I of Constantinople. He had an elder brother, Sisinnios, who was captured during theinvasion of Calabria in 788–789.[2]
Tarasios had embarked on a career in the secular administration and had attained the rank ofsenator, eventually becoming imperial secretary (asekretis) to the EmperorConstantine VI and his mother, the EmpressIrene of Athens.[3] When PatriarchPaul IV of Constantinople retired to a monastery, he recommended the lay administrator Tarasios as his successor.[4]
Since Tarasios exhibited bothIconodule sympathies and the willingness to follow imperial commands when they were not contrary to the faith, he was selected as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople by Empress Irene in 784, even though he was alayman at the time. Nevertheless, like alleducatedByzantines, he was well versed intheology, and the election of qualified laymen as bishops was not unheard of in the history of the Church.[3]
He reluctantly accepted, on condition that church unity would be restored withRome and theOriental Patriarchs,[3] and a council be called to address the iconoclast controversy.[4] To make him eligible for the office of patriarch, Tarasios was dulyordained to thedeaconate and then thepriesthood, prior to hisconsecration asbishop.[5]
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Before accepting the dignity ofPatriarch, Tarasios had demanded and obtained the promise that theveneration oficons would be restored in the church. As a part of his policy of improving relations with Rome, he persuaded Empress Irene to write toPope Adrian I, inviting him to senddelegates to Constantinople for a new council, to repudiateheresy. The Pope agreed to send delegates, although he disapproved of the appointment of a layman to the patriarchate. The council convened in theChurch of the Holy Apostles on 17 August 786.Mutinous troops burst into the church and dispersed the delegates. The shaken papal legates at once took ship for Rome. The mutinous troops were removed from the city, and the legates reassembled atNicaea in September 787. The Patriarch served as acting chairman (Christ was considered the true chairman). The council, known as theSecond Council of Nicaea, condemnedIconoclasm and formally approved theveneration oficons. The patriarch assumed a moderate policy towards formerIconoclasts, which incurred the opposition ofTheodore the Studite and his partisans.[4]
About a decade later, Tarasios became involved in a new controversy. In January 795, EmperorConstantine VI divorced his wife,Maria of Amnia, and Tarasios reluctantly condoned the divorce. The monks were scandalised by the patriarch's consent. The leaders of the protest, AbbotPlato of Sakkoudion and his nephew Theodore the Studite, were exiled, but the uproar continued. Much of the anger was directed at Tarasios for allowing the subsequent marriage of the emperor toTheodote to take place, although he had refused to officiate. Under severe pressure from Theodore the Studite, Tarasiosexcommunicated the priest who had conducted Constantine's second marriage.
Tarasios continued to loyally serve the subsequent imperial regimes of Irene andNikephoros I. The patriarch's reputation suffered from criticism of his alleged tolerance ofsimony. On the other hand, his pliability proved most welcome to three very different monarchs and accounts for Tarasios' continuation in office until his death. The later selections of the laymenNikephoros I of Constantinople andPhotios I of Constantinople as patriarchs may have been in part inspired by the example set by Tarasios.
Though some later scholars have been critical of what they perceive as Tarasios' weakness before imperial power, he continues to be revered in theEastern Orthodox Churches for his defence of the use of icons, and his struggle for the peace and unity of the Church. Hisfeast day is celebrated on 25 February by the Eastern Orthodox andByzantine RiteEastern Catholic Churches (This date on theJulian Calendar at present corresponds to 10 March in common years and 9 March in leap years on theGregorian Calendar) and on 18 February byLatin Church Catholics.
| Titles of Chalcedonian Christianity | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 784 – 806 | Succeeded by |
