Methodios I of Constantinople

Methodios I of Constantinople, also known as Methodius, was a ninth-century Byzantine churchman who served as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 843 until his death in 847. He was born in Syracuse on the island of Sicily, then a province of the Byzantine Empire, in the late eighth century. Coming from a prosperous family, he received a solid education in both secular learning and Christian doctrine. As a young man he traveled to the imperial capital of Constantinople. There he embraced the monastic life rather than a secular career, becoming a monk at the monastery of Chenolakkos in Bithynia and later being ordained to the priesthood.

During the revival of Iconoclasm under Emperor Leo V the Armenian beginning in 815, Methodios stood firmly with those who defended the veneration of icons. He was sent to Rome in connection with the iconophile cause and remained there for a number of years, in contact with the papacy. After returning to Byzantine territory during the reign of Emperor Michael II, he was arrested because of his opposition to iconoclastic policy. He endured a lengthy imprisonment and physical mistreatment. Persecution continued under Emperor Theophilos. Throughout this period Methodios remained a leading figure among the defenders of traditional icon veneration.

Following the death of Theophilos in 842, Empress Theodora, ruling as regent for the young Michael III, decided to restore the icons. The iconoclast patriarch John VII Grammatikos was removed from office, and Methodios was elected and consecrated Patriarch of Constantinople in March 843. A synod held that year condemned Iconoclasm, restored the holy images, and instituted the annual feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, still observed on the first Sunday of Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Methodios composed liturgical hymns for the occasion. As patriarch he sought a relatively moderate course in dealing with clergy who had accepted iconoclasm during the preceding decades, a policy that brought him into conflict with more rigorist monks, particularly from the Stoudios monastery.

Methodios died in Constantinople on 14 June 847 after a patriarchate of just over four years. He left writings that include theological treatises in defense of icons as well as hymns and other liturgical poetry. The Eastern Orthodox Church honors him as a saint and confessor, commemorating him on 14 June. He is remembered above all for his endurance of persecution and for his role in the final restoration of icon veneration after more than a century of controversy in the Byzantine Church.