Saint Nicephorus

Saint Nicephorus

Saint Nicephorus , 758?–829?, patriarch of Constantinople (806–15), Byzantine historian and theologian. St. Nicephorus attended the Second Council of Nicaea as lay representative of the emperor. His appointment by Emperor Nicephorus I to the patriarchate while he was still a layman aroused the anger of the monastic party under St. Theodore of Studium, but the quarrel was quieted. St. Nicephorus opposed iconoclasm and secured a pledge of orthodoxy from Emperor Michael I . Michael's successor, Leo V , however, insisted that the patriarch modify his views, but Nicephorus refused and was deposed and exiled. In his exile he wrote a brief narrative of Byzantine history from 602 to 769 and several tracts against iconoclasm. Feast: Mar. 13.

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"Saint Nicephorus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Nicephorus, St

Nicephorus, St (758–828), Patr. of Constantinople. He withdrew from court life and retired to a monastery, but was recalled to Constantinople and in 806 made Patriarch, though not yet in Holy Orders. In return, the Emp. Nicephorus demanded his reinstatement of a priest who had been deposed for blessing the adulterous marriage of the Emp. Constantine VI; after some hesitation the Patriarch gave way. When the Emp. Leo V (813–20) resumed an iconoclastic policy, Nicephorus resisted; he was exiled in 815 and retired to his former monastery. Besides writing in the image controversy, he compiled a Byzantine history from 602 to 770. Feast day in the E. Church, 2 June; in the W., 13 Mar.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Nicephorus, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Nicephorus, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-NicephorusSt.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Nicephorus, St." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-NicephorusSt.html

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