Hierarch9th century

Saint Methodius Patriarch of Constantinople

c. 788/800 – 847

Also known as Methodios I of Constantinople

A Sicilian-born monk who suffered long imprisonment for the holy icons and, after the triumph of Orthodoxy, was raised to the throne of Constantinople, where he restored the icons to the churches.

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Methodius the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople

Life

Methodius I, the Confessor, was a ninth-century patriarch of Constantinople remembered above all for his role in ending the second period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restoring the veneration of the holy icons. Born in Syracuse, Sicily, to wealthy parents and educated for a public career, he abandoned the prospect of court office to become a monk, rising to lead a monastic community before being drawn into the imperial church's long conflict over images.

His years of exile, imprisonment, and physical suffering under successive iconoclast emperors gave him the title of Confessor. When the regency of the Empress Theodora reversed imperial policy in 843, Methodius was raised to the patriarchal throne and presided over the ceremonial restoration of the icons, an event commemorated ever after as the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 2

You contended on earth as one already delivered from the body,
and thus you deserved heaven, O Methodius!
You proclaimed throughout the world the righteousness of venerating Icons,
spending your days in hardship and effort,
and now you still rebuke those who do not honor the image of Christ.

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

TroparionTone 4

You appeared to your flock as a rule of faith,
an image of humility, and a teacher of abstinence.
Because of your lowliness, heaven was opened to you;
because of your poverty, riches were granted to you!
O Holy Bishop Methodius, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

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

Timeline7 momentsReadHide

c. 788/800Born in SyracuseHe was born in Syracuse, Sicily, to wealthy parents and came to Constantinople intending an education and a court appointment, before being persuaded to enter monastic life.
815Envoy to RomeAmid the renewed controversy over the icons, he traveled to Rome, by tradition as an envoy of the patriarch Nikephoros, to report on the persecutions in the East.
821Arrest and exileUnder the Emperor Michael II he was arrested for supporting the veneration of icons and sent into exile, by one account to Antigoni in the Propontis.
828Released under amnestyHe was released before the death of Michael II, after a general amnesty.
829–842Suffering under TheophilosUnder the Emperor Theophilos he was again imprisoned and, by tradition, scourged and confined, though the persecution eased toward the end of the reign.
11 March 843Restoration of the iconsNewly appointed patriarch, he led a procession from the church of Blachernae to Hagia Sophia restoring the icons to the church, the event commemorated as the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
14 June 847ReposeHe died in Constantinople after about four years as patriarch and was succeeded by Ignatios.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributionsReadHide

Confessor for the Icons

Methodius lived through the second period of Byzantine iconoclasm, when imperial policy under Leo V and his successors again condemned the making and veneration of religious images. Aligned with the deposed patriarch Nikephoros and the party that defended the icons, he was sent on a mission to Rome in 815 and, on his return, fell under the suspicion of the imperial authorities.

Arrested in 821 under Michael II and again imprisoned under Theophilos, he endured exile and bodily suffering rather than abandon the cause of the images. These trials, borne without martyrdom, earned him the rank of Confessor by which he is commemorated.

Patriarch and the Triumph of Orthodoxy

After the death of Theophilos, the regency of the Empress Theodora, acting through the minister Theoktistos, reversed the iconoclast policy. The iconoclast patriarch John VII Grammatikos was deposed, and Methodius was raised to the patriarchal throne; a synod at Constantinople confirmed the deposition and his succession.

On 11 March 843, accompanied by Theodora, the young emperor Michael III, and Theoktistos, Methodius led a solemn procession from the church of Blachernae to Hagia Sophia and restored the icons to the churches. The event was thereafter kept annually as the Triumph of Orthodoxy on the first Sunday of Great Lent. He is credited with the composition of the Synodikon of Orthodoxy read at that observance. As patriarch he favored a moderate reconciliation with formerly iconoclast clergy and remained active in manuscript copying, theological writing, hagiography, and liturgical composition until his repose in 847.

Companions5 figuresShowHide

Empress-regent who raised him to the patriarchate and joined him in the Triumph of Orthodoxy

Righteous Theodora the EmpressRestorer of the Icons

Deposed patriarch and fellow iconodule whose cause he served as envoy to Rome

Saint Nikephoros the ConfessorPatriarch of Constantinople

His successor on the patriarchal throne

Saint IgnatiusPatriarch of Constantinople

Whom, discerning her by revelation, he ordained deaconess and clothed as abbess of Chrysovalantou.

Saint Ireneof Chrysovalantou

Wonderworking ascetic of Atroa and confessor of the icons.

Venerable Peterof Atroe

Related Saints2 saintsShowHide