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Flavian of Constantinople

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Saint

Flavian of Constantinople
Saint Flavian, as depicted in the 11th century Menologion of Basil II.
Patriarch of Constantinople, Martyr
Died449
Hypaepa, Lydia, Asia Minor
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church
Catholic Church
Canonized451 by Council of Chalcedon
Major shrineRelics venerated in Italy
FeastFebruary 18

Flavian (Latin: Flavianus; Greek: Φλαβιανός, Phlabianos; d. 11 August 449), sometimes Flavian I, was Archbishop of Constantinople from 446 to 449. He is venerated as a saint and martyr[1] by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.

Consecration as archbishop and imperial dispute

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Flavian was a presbyter and the guardian of the sacred vessels of the great Church of Constantinople and, according to Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, was reputed to lead a saintly life, when he was chosen to succeed Proclus as Archbishop of Constantinople.[2]

During his consecration, Roman Emperor Theodosius II was staying at Chalcedon. His eunuch Chrysaphius attempted to extort a present of gold to the Emperor but as he was unsuccessful, he began to plot against the new archbishop by supporting the archimandrite Eutyches in his dispute with Flavian.

Home Synod of Constantinople

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Flavian presided at a council of forty bishops at Constantinople on November 8, 448, to resolve a dispute between the metropolitan bishop of Sardis and two bishops of his province. Eusebius, bishop of Dorylaeum, presented an indictment against Eutyches. The speech of Flavian remains, concluding with this appeal to the bishop of Dorylaeum: "Let your reverence condescend to visit him and argue with him about the true faith, and if he shall be found in very truth to err, then he shall be called to our holy assembly, and shall answer for himself." Eventually the synod deposed Eutyches.[3]

Second Council of Ephesus

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However, Eutyches protested against this verdict and received the support of Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria, and he fled to Alexandria. The Emperor Theodosius the Younger, already angered by Flavian's refusal to pay him the customary bribe, was persuaded by the eunuch Chrysaphius to convoke another Council to Ephesus. At this council, which assembled on August 8, 449, Eutyches was declared an orthodox teacher and reinstated, well Flavian was anathematized, deposed, and ordered into exile.[3]

Death and Martyrdom

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Depiction of the Martyrdom of Flavian by Dioscorus and Barsumas.
The Martyrdom of Saint Flavian by Shea (1894)

At the previously mentioned Ephesus II at the crux of the council the various leaders opposed to Eutyches' Monophysitism were variously assaulted.[4] In a notable example papal legate and future Pope Hilarius proclaimed "Contradicitur!" and fled with much difficulty. Flavian however refused to bend on any doctrine, and was then beaten, kicked, and trampled over by impudent monks led by a certain Barsumas.[5] Flavian succumbed to his injuries after three days at Epipus in Lydia, and was buried obscurely.[6]

The circumstances of Flavian's death, and the extent Dioscorus' personal responsibility for it, are unclear and still highly controversial in Eastern-Oriental Orthodox dialogue. At the Council of Chalcedon two years later, eyewitness gave several conflicting accounts. One deacon, Ischyrion, accused Dioscorus of ordering his syncelli (personal clerics) to murder people at Ephesus, and even promoting them for the killings. Basil of Seleucia claimed "Armed soldiers burst into the church, and there were arrayed Barsaumas and his monks, parabalani, and a great miscellaneous mob" and that Dioscorus drove the bishops there to murder with "the threats of the mob". According to Diogenes of Cyzicus, a group of Barsauma's monks beat up Flavian while Barsauma cried "Strike him dead!". Finally, some bishops claimed that Dioscorus' soldiers killed Flavian with clubs and swords. However, Richard Price and Michael Gaddis point out that these bishops had to place all blame on Dioscorus to exculpate themselves, noting that "the coercion of dissentients also occurred at Chalcedon".[7] In The Exile and Death of Flavian of Constantinople: A Prologue to the Council of Chalcedon, H. Chadwick hypothesises that Pulcheria and possibly Anatolius had conspired to have Flavian killed.[8]

Additional, possibly embellished details about Flavian's death only appear in later authors. Prosper of Aquitaine, a contemporary, adds that Flavian was killed by the soldiers taking him to his place of banishment. Liberatus of Carthage states that Flavian suffered blows and died as a result. According to Evagrius Scholasticus, Eusebius of Dorylaeum claimed at the council that Flavian had been beaten and kicked by Dioscorus himself.[9] Theophanes the Confessor, writing three centuries after the event, says that Dioscorus personally struck Flavian "both with hands and feet".[10] The detail of Flavian clutching the altar as he was beaten is also a later invention.

Aftermath

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Pope Leo I, whose legates had been ignored at the council, protested, first calling the council a "robber synod", and declared its decisions void.

After Theodosius II died in 450, his sister Pulcheria returned to power, marrying the officer Marcian, who became Emperor. The new Imperial couple had Flavian's remains brought to Constantinople[3] in a way that, in the words of a chronicler, more resembled "a triumph .. than a funeral procession". The Council of Chalcedon, called in 451, condemned Eutyches, confirmed Pope Leo's Tome (letter 28)[11] and canonized Flavian as a martyr.

In the Roman Catholic Church St. Flavian is commemorated on February 18, the date assigned to him in the Roman Martyrology. Flavian of Ricina is sometimes identified with him.[12][13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ NewsRoom. "Memory of Saint Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople | Orthodox Times (en)". orthodoxtimes.com/. Retrieved 2024-05-10. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ Rudge, F.M. "St. Flavian." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 6 February 2019
  3. ^ a b c "St. Flavian the Confessor the Patriarch of Constantinople", Orthodox Church in America
  4. ^ "St. Flavian, Martyr, Archbishop of Constantinople | EWTN". EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  5. ^ Scholasticus, Evagrius (593). Ecclesiastical History.
  6. ^ Comes, Marcellinus (534). Annales.
  7. ^ Price, Richard; Gaddis, Michael (2007). The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon (PDF). Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-100-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-11.
  8. ^ "Vol. 6, No. 1, April 1955 of The Journal of Theological Studies on JSTOR". www.jstor.org. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  9. ^ Evagrius Scholasticus. Ecclesiastical History (AD431-594), Book 2. Translated by E. Walford. ISBN 978-0353453159. He also said, that Flavian had even been brought to a miserable end by being thrust and trampled on by Dioscorus himself.
  10. ^ Charles Joseph Hefele. A History Of The Councils Of The Church. ISBN 978-1500177898.
  11. ^ Pope Leo I. "Letter 28 - The Tome". New Advent. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  12. ^ Borelli, Antonio. "San Flaviano di Ricina", Santi e Beati, February 23, 2005
  13. ^ Among the documents which touch on the career of Flavian are the reply of Petrus Chrysologus, archbishop of Ravenna, to a circular appeal of Eutyches, and various letters of Theodoret. Pope Leo I wrote Flavian a beautiful letter before hearing that he was dead.

Attribution

Bibliography

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Titles of the Great Christian Church
Preceded by Archbishop of Constantinople
446–449 		Succeeded by
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