Callinicus, Patriarch of Constantinople
CALLINICUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
693 to 705. His origin is unknown, but he had served in an important post at the Blachernae Church in the royal quarter of the capital city before he succeeded Paul III as patriarch of Constantinople, and frequently opposed the brutality and interference of the Byzantine Emperor, jus tinian ii. When the patrician Leontius mounted a revolt that resulted in the mutilation and banishment of the Emperor in 695, Callinicus supported the conspiracy and crowned Leontius as the new monarch. Another revolution placed Apsimar Tiberius II on the imperial throne in 698. Meanwhile, Justinian was preparing a return from exile, and in 705 he laid siege to Constantinople with a formidable army of Slavs and Bulgars. A surprise raid won Justinian's restoration. In the reign of terror that followed, Callinicus was blinded and exiled to Rome. The choice of Rome seems to have been dictated by reasons of security rather than of religious intrigue. Hagiographic sources report that Callinicus was immured alive— probably a typical exaggeration of the fact of his imprisonment.
Feast: Aug. 23, 24, or 30 (Eastern Church).
Bibliography: j. gouillard, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques 11:415. m. v. brandi, Bibliotheca sanctorum 3:673–675.
[r. j. schork]