Flavian of Constantinople | |
|---|---|
 Saint Flavian, as depicted in the 11th century,Menologion of Basil II | |
| Patriarch of Constantinople | |
| Died | 11 August 449 Hypaepa,Lydia,Asia Minor |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Catholic Church |
| Canonized | 451 byCouncil of Chalcedon |
| Majorshrine | Relics venerated inItaly |
| Feast | 18 February |
Flavian of Constantinople (Latin:Flavianus;Ancient Greek:Φλαβιανός,Phlabianos;d. 11 August 449), sometimesFlavian I, wasArchbishop of Constantinople from 446 to 449. He is venerated as asaint andmartyr[1] by theEastern Orthodox Church and theCatholic Church.
Flavian was a presbyter and the guardian of the sacred vessels of the great Church of Constantinople and, according toNikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, was reputed to lead a saintly life, when he was chosen to succeedProclus of Constantinople as Archbishop of Constantinople.[2]
During hisconsecration,Roman EmperorTheodosius II was staying atChalcedon. His eunuchChrysaphius attempted to extort a present of gold to the Emperor but as he was unsuccessful, he began to plot against the new archbishop by supporting thearchimandriteEutyches in his dispute with Flavian.
Flavian presided at a council of forty bishops at Constantinople on 8 November 448, to resolve a dispute between the metropolitanbishop of Sardis and two bishops of his province.Eusebius of Dorylaeum, bishop of Dorylaeum, presented anindictment againstEutyches. The speech of Flavian remains, concluding with this appeal to the bishop of Dorylaeum: "Let your reverence condescend to visit him and argue with him about the true faith, and if he shall be found in very truth to err, then he shall be called to our holy assembly and shall answer for himself". Eventually the synod deposed Eutyches.[3]
However, Eutyches protested against this verdict and received the support ofPope Dioscorus I of Alexandria, and he fled to Alexandria. The EmperorTheodosius II, already angered by Flavian's refusal to pay him the customary bribe, was persuaded by the eunuchChrysaphius to convokeanother Council to Ephesus. At this council, which assembled on 8 August 449, Eutyches was declared an orthodox teacher and reinstated, while Flavian was anathematised, deposed, and ordered into exile.[3]
At the previously mentioned second Council of Ephesus at the crux of the council the various leaders opposed to Eutyches'Monophysitism were variously assaulted.[4] Once Flavian's condemnation was read, some of his supporters (namely bishops Onesiphorus ofIconium, Marinianus ofSynnada, Nunechius ofLaodicea and others) rushed to appeal to Dioscorus, who summoned thecounts Helpidius and Eulogius to restore order. They entered the church, led by theproconsul Proclus and followed by soldiers and a mob. Flavian feared for his life and escaped to thesacristry, where he was under guard. He wrote a letter toPope Leo, whichpapal legate and future PopeHilarius conveyed to Rome after escaping Ephesus with much difficulty. Flavian, however, was then beaten, kicked, and trampled over by impudent monks led by a certainBarsauma.[5] He succumbed to his injuries after three days atEpipus inLydia, and was buried obscurely.[6]
The exact circumstances of Flavian's death, and the extent of Dioscorus' personal responsibility for it, are unclear and remain controversial inEastern-Oriental Orthodox dialogue. Flavian's lettter to Leo says that soldiers "with unsheathed swords" threatened the bishops, and that a crowd of soldiers surrounded him and prevented him from taking sanctuary in the altar, but he does not mention any physical assault.[7] At theCouncil of Chalcedon two years later, eyewitnesses gave several conflicting accounts. One deacon, Ischyrion, accused Dioscorus of ordering hissyncelli (personal clerics) to murder people at Ephesus and even promoting them for the killings.Basil of Seleucia claimed "Armed soldiers burst into the church, and there were arrayed Barsauma and his monks,parabalani, and a great miscellaneous mob" and that Dioscorus controlled the bishops there using "the threats of the mob". According toDiogenes of Cyzicus, a group of Barsauma's monks beat up Flavian while Barsauma cried "Strike him dead!". Finally, some bishops testified that Dioscorus' soldiers killed Flavian with clubs and swords. However, Richard Price and Michael Gaddis question the impartiality of these accounts, noting that these bishops had to place all blame for Flavian's death on Dioscorus to exculpate themselves.[8]
Additional, possibly embellished details about Flavian's death only appear in later authors. The earliest source on Flavian's death,Nestorius, describes how Flavian was beaten at Ephesus, though not to death, and then banished to his home city ofHypaepa. However, the soldiers rushed him to his place of exile (with murderous intent, according to Nestorius), so that Flavian's injuries combined with the fatigue of the journey led to his death after four days.[7]Prosper of Aquitaine, another contemporary, affirms that Flavian was killed by the soldiers taking him to his place of banishment. In a disputed letter toTheodoret dated 11 June 453, Pope Leo blamed Dioscorus in a general sense for Flavian's death.Liberatus of Carthage relates that Flavian suffered blows and died as a result. According toEvagrius Scholasticus,Eusebius of Dorylaeum complained at the council that Dioscorus himself, along with Barsauma's monks, beat and kicked Flavian.[9]Theophanes the Confessor, writing three centuries after the event, mentions that Dioscorus personally struck Flavian "both with hands and feet".[10] The detail of Flavian clutching the altar as he was beaten is also a later invention.
Pope Leo I, whose legates had been ignored at the council, protested, first calling the council a "robber synod", and declared its decisions void.
After Theodosius II died in 450, his sister Pulcheria returned to power, marrying the officerMarcian, who became Emperor. The new Imperial couple had Flavian's remains brought to Constantinople[3] in a way that, in the words of a chronicler, more resembled "a triumph... than a funeral procession". TheCouncil of Chalcedon, called in 451, condemned Eutyches, confirmed Pope Leo'sTome (letter 28)[11] and canonised Flavian as amartyr.
In the Catholic Church St. Flavian is commemorated on 18 February, the date assigned to him in theRoman Martyrology.Flavian of Ricina is sometimes identified with him.[12][13]
He also said that Flavian had even been brought to a miserable end by being thrust and trampled on by Dioscorus himself.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C., eds. (1911). "Flavianus (8), bishop of Constantinople".Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century (3rd ed.). London: John Murray.:| Titles of the Great Christian Church | ||
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| Preceded by | Archbishop of Constantinople 446 – 449 | Succeeded by |
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