May 434-446 A.D. Proclus—Constantinople’s 43rd
May
434-446 A.D. Proclus—Constantinople’s
43rd
Contents
Biography
Works
Feast day
References
Further reading
Proclus of Constantinople
Proclus portrayed in the Menologion
of Basil II
Saint Proclus (died July 446 or 447) was an Archbishop of Constantinople. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Contents
Biography
The friend and disciple of
Saint John Chrysostom, Proclus became secretary to Archbishop Atticus of Constantinople (406–425). who ordained him deacon and priest. Atticus' successor, Sisinnius I (426–427), consecrated him Bishop of Cyzicus, but the people there refused to receive him, and he remained at
Constantinople. On the death of Sisinnius, the famous Nestorius succeeded as Archbishop of Constantinople
(428–431), and early in 429, on a festival of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), Proclus preached his celebratedsermon on the Incarnation, which was later inserted in the beginning of the Acts of the Council of Ephesus.[1]
When Archbishop Maximianus (431–434)
died on Great and Holy Thursday,
Proclus was immediately enthroned by the permission of the Emperor Theodosius II and the bishops gathered at Constantinople. His
first care was the funeral of his predecessor, and he then sent to both
Patriarchs Cyril of
Alexandria and John of Antioch the usual synodical letters announcing his appointment, both of whom approved of it.[1]
In 436 the bishops of Armenia consulted Proclus upon certain doctrines prevalent in their country and attributed to Theodore of Mopsuestia,
asking for their condemnation. Proclus replied the next year in the celebrated letter
known as the Tome to the Armenians,[2] which he sent to the Eastern bishops, asking them
to sign it and to join in condemning the doctrines arraigned by the Armenians.
They approved of the letters, but from admiration of Theodore hesitated to
condemn the doctrines attributed to him. Proclus replied that while he desired
the extracts subjoined to his Tome to be condemned, he had not attributed them
to Theodore or any individual, not desiring the condemnation of any person.[1]
A rescript from Theodosius procured by Proclus, declaring his
wish that all should live in peace and that no imputation should be made
against anyone who died in communion with the church, appeased the storm. The
whole affair showed conspicuously the moderation and tact of Proclus. In 438,
he transferred the relics of his old master, Saint John Chrysostom, from Comana back to Constantinople, where he interred them with great honour in the Church of the Twelve apostles. This action reconciled to the church those of Saint John's adherents who
had separated themselves in consequence of the his unjust deposition as Archbishop.[1]
In 439, at the request of a deputation from Caesarea in Cappadocia, Proclus selected as their new bishop Thalassius, who was about to be appointed praetorian
prefect of
the East.[1]
In the time of Proclus the Trisagion came into use. The occasion is said to have been a
time when violent earthquakes lasted for four months at Constantinople, so that
the people were obliged to leave the city and encamp in the fields.[1]
Proclus died most probably in
July, 446. He appears to have been wise, moderate, and conciliatory, desirous,
while strictly adhering to Orthodoxy himself, to win over those who differed from him by
persuasion rather than force.[1]
Works
The works of Proclus consist
of 20 sermons (some of doubtful authenticity.[3] 5 were published by Cardinal Mai,[4] of which 3 are preserved only in a Syriac version, the Greekbeing lost; 7 letters, along with several addressed to him by other
persons; and a few fragments of other letters and sermons.[5]
Proclus was cited by Cardinal John Henry Newman for his work on mariology and his strong support of the conciliar dogma on
the Theotokos.[1]
Proclus was cited by Cotton Mather in his work entitled Psalterium Americanum (a commentary on the Book of Psalms)
for his view on the book of Psalms. Mather directly quotes Proclus in a
five-line quotation about the purposes for reading the Psalms.
Feast day
The Orthodox church celebrated his feast
day on November 20.[6]
References
5.
Jump up^ Daniel 1911 cites Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, vii. xxvi., and passim; Theophanes, sub annus 430; Tillemont, Mém. eccl. xiv. 704; AA. SS. Act. x. 639.
Attribution
·
This article incorporates text from a
publication now in the public domain: Daniel, F. H. Blackburne (1911). "Proclus, St. patriarch of Constantinople". In Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C. Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the
End of the Sixth Century (third ed.). London: John Murray.
This article incorporates text from a
publication now in the public domain: Daniel, F. H. Blackburne (1911). "Proclus, St. patriarch of Constantinople". In Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C. Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the
End of the Sixth Century (third ed.). London: John Murray.
Further reading
·
Bacchus, Francis Joseph
(1911). "St. Proclus". Catholic
Encyclopedia 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Bacchus, Francis Joseph
(1911). "St. Proclus". Catholic
Encyclopedia 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
·
Constas,
Nicholas (2003). Proclus of
Constantinople and the Cult of the Virgin in Late Antiquity: Homilies 1-5,
Texts and Translations. Leiden:
Brill.
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Archbishop of Constantinople
434–446 |
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