Cloud of Witnesses
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Hierarch6th century

Saint Eutychius of Constantinople

c. 512 - 582

Also known as Eutychius the Patriarch

Patriarch of Constantinople (552-565 and 577-582) who presided over the Fifth Ecumenical Council in 553. He was deposed and exiled for refusing to accept the emperor's heterodox views, and was later restored to his see.

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Eutychius, Archbishop of Constantinople

Life

Eutychius was Patriarch of Constantinople across two terms, from 552 to 565 and again from 577 to 582, in the reigns of the emperors Justinian I, Justin II, and Tiberius II Constantine. He is best remembered for presiding over the Second Council of Constantinople, recognized in the Orthodox Church as the Fifth Ecumenical Council, held in 553.

Born in Phrygia in Asia Minor and formed as a monk at Amasea, he was deposed and exiled by Justinian for refusing to accept the emperor's adoption of the Aphthartodocetist teaching. After more than a decade in exile he was restored to his see, where he served until his repose. He is commemorated on April 6 and is venerated as a hierarch and confessor.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide
KontakionTone 8

Let us all chant with faith and love, O people,
blessing the godly Eutychius as a great pastor and minister,
an all-wise teacher and expeller of heresies,
for he entreats the Lord on behalf of us all!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 4

In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith,
an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence;
your humility exalted you;
your poverty enriched you.
Hierarch Father Eutychius,
entreat Christ our God
that our souls may be saved.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline8 momentsReadHide
  1. c. 512Birth in PhrygiaEutychius was born around the year 512 at Theium in the province of Phrygia in Asia Minor. By one account his father Alexander was a soldier who served under the Byzantine commander Belisarius, and his mother Synesia was the daughter of the priest Hesychius of Augustopolis.
  2. c. 542Monastic life at AmaseaAfter early education and advanced studies, Eutychius entered a monastery at Amasea to dedicate his life to monastic discipline, becoming a monk around the age of thirty.
  3. 552Elevation to the patriarchateOn the death of Patriarch Menas in August 552, Eutychius was nominated by the Emperor Justinian I as Patriarch of Constantinople. Tradition relates that Menas had approved him as a successor, and that the Apostle Peter confirmed the appointment in a vision to Justinian.
  4. 553The Fifth Ecumenical CouncilEutychius presided over the Second Council of Constantinople, the Fifth Ecumenical Council, which met from May 5 to June 2, 553. He held the first place in the assembly, and the council issued its decrees concerning the Three Chapters.
  5. 562Consecration of Hagia SophiaIn 562 Eutychius consecrated the rebuilt church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
  6. 565Deposition and exileWhen Justinian embraced Aphthartodocetism, the teaching that Christ's body was incorruptible and incapable of suffering, Eutychius refused to comply. On January 22, 565, soldiers carried him away from the patriarchal residence, and he was sent into exile, residing in monasteries on Principus Island and at Amasea for about twelve years.
  7. 577Restoration to the seeAfter Justinian's death, the Emperor Justin II and the future Tiberius II Constantine recalled Eutychius to Constantinople in October 577. His return is described as triumphal, with crowds gathering to receive him, and he resumed the patriarchate.
  8. 582ReposeEutychius died on the Sunday after Easter, dated to early April 582, at about the age of seventy. Before his death he gathered his clergy and is reported to have confessed his belief in the physical resurrection of the body. He is commemorated on April 6.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

Patriarch and Council Father

Eutychius occupied the see of Constantinople at a turbulent moment in the Christological controversies of the sixth century. His first patriarchate coincided with Justinian's effort to reconcile divided parties through the condemnation of the Three Chapters, the writings associated with Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Ibas of Edessa. As presiding bishop of the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, Eutychius stood at the center of this work, sharing the first place in the assembly that produced the council's decrees.

His tenure also saw the consecration of the rebuilt Hagia Sophia in 562, the great church of the imperial capital, marking a high point of his early years as patriarch.

Confession and Exile

The conflict that defined Eutychius's witness arose toward the end of Justinian's reign, when the emperor adopted Aphthartodocetism, a teaching that held the body of Christ to have been incorruptible and incapable of suffering even before the Resurrection. Eutychius refused to give his assent.

His refusal led to his removal: in 565 soldiers seized him and he was sent into exile, where he remained for roughly twelve years in monasteries on Principus Island and at Amasea. He was recalled and restored to his see in 577 under Justin II and Tiberius II Constantine, and the sources describe his return to Constantinople as a public triumph.

Traditional Accounts

By tradition, during his years in exile Eutychius was credited with miraculous healings of the body and with the gift of prophecy. These accounts belong to the synaxarion tradition surrounding his life rather than to the documented record of his public acts as patriarch.

Companions1 figureShowHide
His successor on the patriarchal throne, elected after his death in 582.
John the FasterPatriarch of Constantinople
Related Saints2 saintsShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Successor in the see of Constantinople, who held the patriarchate through Eutychius's years of exile; Eutychius was restored only after John's death
Saint John ScholasticusPatriarch of Constantinople
Predecessor in the see of Constantinople, on whose death in 552 Eutychius was elevated to the patriarchate
Saint MenasPatriarch of Constantinople

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints; en.wikipedia.org