- St Eutychius, patriarch of Constantinople (582)
- He was born to devout and noble parents in Phrygia. Though his
father was a prominent officer, he entered monastic life when young, and
became abbot of a monastery in Amasea at the age of thirty. In 553 he
was sent to the Fifth Ecumenical Council as the representative of the
Metropolitan of Amasea. At the Council, he was one of those who argued,
successfully, that heretics could be anathematized after their deaths.
The most prominent case in point was Origen, the brilliant Christian
philosopher who had written that all will eventually be saved.
Eutychius' position thus earned him the enmity of the Origenists, who
still made up an influential group in the Church. Saint Eutychius
became a trusted confidante of the Emperor Justinian, and when Menas,
Patriarch of Constantinople, reposed, Eutychius was chosen to replace
him. Eutychius ruled in peace for twelve years, but was then cast into
controversy when he boldly opposed one of the most hard-to-pronounce
heresies in the history of the Church: Aphthartodocetism,
the belief that Christ, before his resurrection, possessed an
incorruptible body, not subject to hunger, thirst or pain (though the
scriptures plainly speak of Christ being weary, hungry, thirsty,
weeping). The Emperor Justinian for a time fell into this variant of the
Monophysite heresy, and exiled Eutychius to his monastery for twelve
years. During these years Eutychius showed himself to be a
wonder-worker, healing many of their diseases through his prayers.
Justinian repented shortly before his death, and his successor, Justin
II, called Eutychius back to the Patriarchal throne, where he served the
Church in peace until his repose at the age of seventy.
source: http://www.abbamoses.com
|
