Editing Photios I of Constantinople (section)

== Patriarch of Constantinople ==
[[File:Патриарх фотий.png|thumb|260px|A fresco of Saint Photius as Patriarch of Constantinople]]
[[File:The interrogation of Patriarch Photios.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The trial of Photius, miniature from the 12th century [[Madrid Skylitzes]]]]

Photius's ecclesiastical career took off spectacularly after ''[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]'' [[Bardas]] and his nephew, the youthful Emperor [[Michael III]], put an end to the administration of the regent [[Theodora (wife of Theophilos)|Theodora]] and the [[Logothetes tou dromou]] [[Theoktistos]] in 856. In 858, Bardas found himself opposed by the then Patriarch [[Ignatius of Constantinople]], who refused to admit him into [[Hagia Sophia]], since it was believed that he was having an affair with his widowed daughter-in-law. In response, Bardas and Michael engineered Ignatius's confinement and removal on the charge of treason, thus leaving the patriarchal throne empty. The throne was soon filled with a kinsman of Bardas, Photius himself, who was tonsured a monk on 20 December 858, and on the four following days was successively ordained lector, sub-deacon, deacon and priest, and then on Christmas Day, the [[patronal feast]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Janin |first=Raymond |title=La Géographie Ecclésiastique de l'Empire Byzantin, 1, Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique, 3rd Vol. - Les Églises et les Monastères |publisher=Institut Français d'Études Byzantines |location=Paris |date=1953}}</ref> of Constantinople's cathedral, [[Hagia Sophia]], Photius I's was [[Consecration in Eastern Christianity|consecrated a bishop]] and installed as patriarch.<ref>{{harvnb|Tougher|1997|p=69}}</ref>

The confinement and removal of Ignatius and the speedy promotion of Photius at first caused only internal controversy within the Church of Constantinople, and in 859 a local council was held, examining the issue and confirming the removal of Ignatius and election of Photius.{{sfn|Dvornik|1948|pp=39–69}} In the same time, partisans of Ignatius decided to appeal to the Holy Roman and Catholic Church, thus initiating ecclesiastical controversy on an ecumenical scale as the [[Pope]] and the rest of the western bishops took up the cause of Ignatius. The latter's confinement and removal without a formal ecclesiastical trial meant that Photius's election was uncanonical, and eventually [[Pope Nicholas I]] sought to involve himself in determining the legitimacy of the succession. His legates were dispatched to Constantinople with instructions to investigate, but finding Photius well ensconced, they acquiesced in the confirmation of his election at a [[Council of Constantinople (861)|synod]] in 861.{{sfn|Dvornik|1948|pp=70–90}} On their return to Rome, they discovered that this was not at all what Nicholas had intended, and in 863 at a synod in Rome, the Supreme Pontiff deposed Photius I, and reappointed Ignatius as the rightful patriarch, triggering a [[Photian schism|schism]]. Four years later, Photius I was to respond on his own part by calling a Council and attempting to [[excommunicate]] the Holy Father on grounds of heresy – over the question of the double procession of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]].<ref>{{harvnb|Fortescue|2001|pp=147–148}}; {{harvnb|Louth|2007|p=171}}; {{harvnb|Tougher|1997|p=69}}.</ref> The situation was additionally complicated by the question of [[Papacy|papal]] authority over the entire Church and by disputed jurisdiction over newly converted [[Bulgaria]].<ref>{{harvnb|Chadwick|2003|loc=Chapter 3: "Early Christian Diversity - The Quest for Coherence", p. 146}}.</ref>

This state of affairs changed with the murder of Photius's patron [[Bardas]] in 866 and of Emperor Michael III in 867, by his colleague [[Basil I]], who now usurped the throne. Photius I was deposed as patriarch, not so much because he was a protégé of Bardas and Michael, but because Basil I was seeking an alliance with the Pope and the Western emperor. Photius I was removed from his office and banished about the end of September 867,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=483}} and Ignatius was reinstated on 23 November. Photius I was condemned by the [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Roman Catholic)|Council of 869–870]], thus putting an end to the schism. During his second patriarchate, however, Ignatius followed a policy not very different from that of Photius I.

Not long after his condemnation, Photius I had reingratiated himself with Basil I and became tutor to the Byzantine emperor's children. From surviving letters of Photius I written during his exile at the Skepi monastery, it appears that the ex-patriarch brought pressure to bear on the Byzantine emperor to restore him. Ignatius' biographer argues that Photius forged a document relating to the genealogy and rule of Basil I's family, and had it placed in the imperial library where a friend of his was a librarian. According to this document, the Byzantine emperor's ancestors were not mere peasants as everyone believed but descendants of the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Treadgold|1997|loc=Chapter Fourteen - "External Gains, 842–912", p. 457}}.</ref> True or not, this story does reveal Basil I's dependence on Photius I for literary and ideological matters. Following Photius I's recall, Ignatius and the ex-patriarch met and publicly expressed their reconciliation. When Ignatius died on 23 October 877, it was a matter of course that his old opponent replaced him on the patriarchal throne three days later. Shaun Tougher asserts that from this point on Basil I no longer simply depended on Photius, but in fact he was dominated by him.<ref>{{harvnb|Tougher|1997|pp=70–71}}.</ref>

Photius I now obtained the formal recognition of the Christian world in a [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox)|council convened at Constantinople]] in November 879. The legates of [[Pope John VIII]] attended, prepared to acknowledge Photius I as legitimate patriarch, a concession for which the pope was much censured by Latin opinion. The patriarch stood firm on the main points contested between the Eastern and Western Churches: the demand of an apology to the Pope, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction over [[Bulgaria]], and the addition of the ''[[Filioque]]'' to the [[Nicene Creed]] by the Western church.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=483}} Eventually, Photius refused to apologize or accept the ''Filioque'', and the papal legates made do with his return of Bulgaria to Rome. This concession, however, was purely nominal, as Bulgaria's return to the [[Byzantine rite]] in 870 had already secured for it an autocephalous church. Without the consent of [[Boris I of Bulgaria]] (r. 852–889), the papacy was unable to enforce its claims. [[Pope Adrian III]] chose a policy of appeasement and sent between 884 and 885 bishop [[Theodosius of Oria]] to transmit notice of his election and a synodal letter to Photius about faith and the ''Filioque''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bougard |first1=François |last2=Levillain |first2=Philippe |last3=O'Malley |first3=John W. |title=The Papacy - Gaius-Proxies |date=2002 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis|Psychology Press]] |isbn=978-0-415-92230-2 |page=682 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VDcmDeLuV4C |access-date=25 March 2024 |language=en |chapter=Adrian III}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McCormick |first=Michael |title=Origins of the European Economy - Communications and Commerce 300–900 AD |date=2001 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-66102-7 |pages=958–959 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_qk37HzM7wC |access-date=25 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

Photius I also promoted a policy of religious reconciliation with the [[Bagratid Armenia|Armenian kingdom]] to the east of the empire. He sought to bridge the confessional differences between the Greek Orthodox and [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian]] churches on two separate occasions, once in 862 and again in 877, but his efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|2006|pp=123–168}}.</ref>

During the altercations between Emperor Basil I and his heir [[Leo VI the Wise]], Photius took the side of the Byzantine emperor. In 883, Basil I accused Leo VI of conspiracy and confined the prince to the palace; he would have even had Leo VI blinded had he not been dissuaded by Photius I and [[Stylianos Zaoutzes]], the father of [[Zoe Zaoutzaina]], Leo's mistress.<ref>{{harvnb|Treadgold|1997|p=460}}.</ref> In 886, Basil I discovered and punished a conspiracy by the domestic of the ''[[Hikanatoi]]'' [[John Kourkouas (9th century)|John Kourkouas]] and many other officials. In this conspiracy, Leo VI was not implicated, but Photius I was possibly one of the conspirators against Basil I's authority.<ref>{{harvnb|Vlyssidou|1997|p=33}}.</ref>

Basil I died in 886 injured while hunting, according to the official story. [[Warren Treadgold]] believes that this time the evidence points to a plot on behalf of Leo VI, who became emperor, and deposed Photius I, although the latter had been his tutor.<ref>{{harvnb|Treadgold|1997|p=461}}.</ref> Photius I was replaced by the Byzantine emperor's brother [[Stephen I of Constantinople]] and sent into exile to the monastery of Bordi in [[Armenia]]. It is confirmed from letters to and from [[Pope Stephen V]] that Leo VI extracted a resignation from Photius I. In 887, Photius I and his protégé, [[Theodore Santabarenos]], were put on trial for treason before a tribunal headed by senior officials, headed by [[Andrew the Scythian]]. Although the sources sympathetic to Photius I give the impression that the trial ended without a conviction, the chronicle of [[Pseudo-Simeon]] clearly states that Photius was banished to the monastery of Gordon, where he later died. Latin sources confirm that while he did not die in a state of complete excommunication, having been reinstated by a council which was approved by Pope John VIII, his ecclesiastical career was viewed in utter disgrace by Catholic authorities and many of his theological opinions were condemned posthumously.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sensusfidelium.us/apologetics/history-of-heresies-their-refutation-st-alphonsus/the-errors-of-the-greeks-condemned-in-three-general-councils |title=The Errors of the Greeks Condemned in Three General Councils |date=17 January 2018}}</ref> Yet it appears that he did not remain reviled for the remainder of his life.<ref>{{harvnb|Tougher|1997|pp=73–76, 84}}.</ref>

Photius I continued his career as a writer throughout his exile, and Leo VI probably rehabilitated his reputation within the next few years; in his ''Epitaphios'' on his brothers, a text probably written in 888, the Emperor presents Photius I favorably, portraying him as the legitimate archbishop, and the instrument of ultimate unity, an image that jars with his attitude to the patriarch in the previous year.<ref>{{harvnb|Tougher|1997|pp=85–86}}.</ref> Confirmation that Photius was rehabilitated comes upon his death - according to some chronicles, his body was permitted to be buried in Constantinople. In addition, according to the anti-Photian biographer of Ignatius, partisans of the ex-patriarch after his death endeavored to claim for him the "honor of sainthood". Furthermore, a leading member of Leo VI's court, [[Leo Choirosphaktes]], wrote poems commemorating the memory of several prominent contemporary figures, such as [[Leo the Mathematician]] and the Patriarch Stephen I, and he also wrote one on Photius.<ref>{{harvnb|Tougher|1997|pp=87–88}}.</ref> Shaun Tougher notes, however, that "yet Photius I's passing does seem rather muted for a great figure of Byzantine history [...] Leo VI [...] certainly did not allow him back into the sphere of politics, and it is surely his absence from this arena that accounts for his quiet passing."<ref>{{harvnb|Tougher|1997|p=88}}.</ref>