Saint
Eutychius de Constantinople, icône, XVIe siècle
Saint Eutyches
Patriarche de
Constantinople (+ 565)
Il voulait devenir moine, mais il comprit que sa vocation était surtout l'édification de l'Église. Prêtre à trente ans, nous le trouvons dans un concile local avec les évêques orthodoxes pour réfuter les thèses hérétiques de Théodore de Mopsueste et de Théodoret de Cyr qui, bien que morts, exerçaient encore une grande influence. Le patriarche Ménas le prépara pour être son successeur. Devenu patriarche, il s'attira les foudres de l'empereur Justinien qui, sous la pression d'évêques jaloux, le condamna à un exil de quinze années. Il s'endormit en paix à Constantinople, quatre ans après son retour sur le trône patriarcal.
À Constantinople, en 582, saint Eutyque, évêque, qui présida le second concile
œcuménique de Constantinople, combattit avec force pour la foi orthodoxe et,
après avoir souffert un long exil, au moment de mourir il prit la peau de sa
main en disant: "Dans cette chair je ressusciterai".
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/6489/Saint-Eutyches.html
Eutychius de
Constantinople
Eutychius de
Constantinople, né vers 512 et décédé le 5 avril 582, était un patriarche de
Constantinople et une figure notable de l'Église byzantine au VIe siècle. Il
est reconnu pour son rôle dans les controverses religieuses de l'époque et pour
sa contribution à la théologie orthodoxe.
Eutychius fut nommé
patriarche de Constantinople en 552, pendant le règne de l'empereur Justinien.
Son épiscopat fut marqué par des tensions théologiques, notamment autour des
débats christologiques qui divisaient l'Église d'Orient et d'Occident. Il a
joué un rôle dans le Deuxième Concile de Constantinople en 553, qui a cherché à
résoudre certaines de ces controverses.
Malgré ses efforts pour
maintenir l'unité ecclésiastique, Eutychius s'est retrouvé en conflit avec
l'empereur Justinien sur des questions théologiques, en particulier concernant
l'aphthartodocétisme, une doctrine sur la nature incorruptible du corps du
Christ. Ces divergences ont mené à son exil en 565.
Après la mort de
Justinien, Eutychius fut rétabli sur le siège de Constantinople en 577, où il
continua son travail pastoral jusqu'à sa mort. Il est l'auteur de plusieurs
œuvres théologiques, dont une histoire de l'Église qui reste une source
importante pour la compréhension des premiers siècles chrétiens.
Eutychius de
Constantinople est vénéré comme un saint dans les Églises orthodoxes, avec une
commémoration le 6 avril, soulignant son héritage en tant que défenseur de
l'orthodoxie et leader ecclésiastique.
Commentaire
de Eutychius de Constantinople
J'ai ardemment désiré
manger cette Pâque avec vous avant de souffrir (Lc 22,15). Assurément, la Pâque
que Jésus a mangée avant de souffrir était, de toute évidence, une Pâque
sacramentelle: elle n'aurait pas été appelée Pâque sans sa passion. Il s'est
donc immolé sacramentellement lorsque, de ses propres mains, il prit le pain à
la fin du repas, il l'éleva et le rompit, en s'unissant lui-même intimement à
l'élément sacramentel.
De même, il remplit la coupe du produit de la vigne, il rendit grâce et l'éleva
vers Dieu le Père. Il dit: Prenez, mangez et Prenez, buvez. Ceci est mon corps
et Ceci est mon sang (Mt 26,26-27). Donc quiconque reçoit une partie de ces
éléments, reçoit en entier le saint corps et le précieux sang du Christ. Et en
raison de son union intime avec ces éléments, le Christ se partage entre tous
ceux qui communient, mais sans se diviser.
Ainsi en va-t-il d'un sceau qui transmet toute son empreinte et toute sa forme
aux matières sur lesquelles il est apposé. Il reste unique, sans subir de
diminution après avoir été apposé ni d'altération par les objets, si nombreux
soient-ils, sur lesquels il a laissé sa marque.
Ainsi un son produit par la bouche humaine se propage-t-il dans l'air en
restant tout entier en celui qui l'a émis. Il se répand dans l'air, pénètre
tout entier dans les oreilles de tous, et un auditeur n'en perçoit pas une part
plus grande ou moins grande qu'un autre. Mais il parvient à tous dans sa
totalité, sans être divisé ni altéré, lors même qu'il est entendu par des
milliers de personnes. Le son n'est pourtant qu'un phénomène matériel,
puisqu'il ne se compose de rien d'autre que d'une vibration de l'air.
Que personne donc ne suppose qu'après le sacrifice sacramentel et la sainte
résurrection du Seigneur, son corps et son sang incorruptibles, immortels,
saints et vivifiants, présents dans les éléments sacramentels grâce aux rites
sacrés, fassent moins sentir leur efficacité propre que les choses que nous
venons de prendre comme exemples. Il faut tenir au contraire que son corps et
son sang sont présents tout entiers dans tous les éléments sacramentels. Car la
plénitude de la divinité du Verbe de Dieu habite corporellement, c'est-à-dire
réellement, dans le corps même du Seigneur. Quant à la fraction de ce pain
précieux, elle signifie la mort sacramentelle du Seigneur. Aussi a-t-il déclaré
qu'il désirait cette Pâque, parce qu'elle nous procure le salut, l'immortalité
et la parfaite connaissance.
SOURCE : https://comprendrelesevangiles.com/auteur/EutychiusConstantinople
Eutychius de
Constantinople dit Saint Eutychius de Constantinople
mercredi 28 avril 2021,
par lucien jallamion
Eutychius de
Constantinople dit Saint Eutychius de Constantinople (vers 512-582)
Patriarche de
Constantinople d’août 552 à janvier 565 et d’octobre 577 à sa mort
Né à Theium en Phrygie [1] Sa
vie est bien connue, car la biographie rédigée après sa mort par un de ses
proches, Eustathe, prêtre de Constantinople [2],
a été conservée.
Son père Alexandre était
un officier de l’armée qui servit sous Bélisaire. Lui-même
devint moine à 30 ans dans le diocèse d’Amasée [3],
puis prêtre et archimandrite [4],
et en 552 son évêque l’envoya à Constantinople pour y traiter d’affaires de sa
charge.
Il fit apparemment grande
impression sur l’empereur Justinien, car,
lorsque, juste après, mourut le patriarche Mennas le 25
août 552, il fut désigné le jour même pour la succession.
Il eut aussitôt à
reprendre les négociations avec le pape Vigile, qui se
trouvait à Constantinople depuis 547, sur la convocation d’un concile
œcuménique, voulu par l’empereur Justinien pour entériner la condamnation des
Trois Chapitres [5].
Le pape céda finalement
le 28 janvier 553, mais refusa de participer à ce deuxième concile de
Constantinople [6],
qui fut dès lors présidé par Eutychius du 5 mai au 2 juin 553. Le 14 mai, le
pape envoya un document condamnant 60 propositions de Théodore de Mopsueste,
mais refusant toujours la condamnation globale des Trois Chapitres. Le concile
passa outre, et ce fut Eutychius qui rédigea les décrets. Finalement, c’est
dans une lettre adressée au patriarche Eutychius et datée du 8 décembre 553 que
le pape Vigile céda pour pouvoir rentrer à Rome.
Le 24 décembre 562,
Eutychius réinaugura en présence de l’empereur la cathédrale Sainte-Sophie [7] dont
la coupole s’était effondrée le 7 mai 558, à la suite du tremblement de terre
de décembre 557.
Fin 564, Justinien
promulgua un décret à la teneur relevant de l’aphthartodocétisme [8].
L’empereur envoya ce texte aux patriarches pour signature, mais Eutychius lui
opposa un refus net.
Le 22 janvier 565,
Justinien fit perquisitionner son domicile et arrêter tous ses serviteurs
pendant qu’il célébrait la messe. La nuit suivante, le patriarche fut arrêté et
enfermé dans un monastère à Chalcédoine [9].
Huit jours après, un
synode d’évêques fut réuni pour le juger sur des griefs sans rapport avec la
question, touchant son mode de vie prétendument inapproprié. Eutychius refusa
de se présenter, et fut condamné et déposé. Il fut d’abord relégué sur l’île de
Prinkipo [10],
puis renvoyé au mois d’avril suivant dans son ancien monastère d’Amasée, et
remplacé par Jean
III Scholastique.
C’est après la mort de
celui-ci, le 31 août 577, que Justin II, le
successeur de Justinien, rétablit Eutychius sur son trône le 3 octobre 577.
Il eut aussi une
controverse avec le diacre Grégoire, apocrisiaire [11] du
pape Pélage II à
Constantinople de 580 à 585, et futur pape Grégoire 1er, à propos
de la résurrection des corps.
P.-S.
Source : Cet article
est partiellement ou en totalité issu de l’article de Wikipédia Eutychius de
Constantinople/ Portail du monde byzantin/ Catégories : Patriarche de
Constantinople
Notes
[1]
La Phrygie est un ancien pays d’Asie Mineure, situé entre la Lydie et la
Cappadoce, sur la partie occidentale du plateau anatolien. Les Phrygiens sont
un peuple indo-européen venu de Thrace ou de la région du Danube. Ils ont
occupé vers 1200 av.jc la partie centrale et occidentale de l’Asie Mineure,
profitant de l’effondrement de l’Empire hittite.
[2]
Constantinople est l’appellation ancienne et historique de l’actuelle ville
d’Istanbul en Turquie (du 11 mai 330 au 28 mars 1930). Son nom originel,
Byzance, n’était plus en usage à l’époque de l’Empire, mais a été repris depuis
le 16ème siècle par les historiens modernes.
[3]
Amasya est la ville capitale de la province turque de même nom. Amasya est la
ville natale du grand historien et géographe grec Strabon. Sous le nom d’Amasée
ou Amasia elle était la capitale de la province de Diospontus ou Hélénopont,
créée par Dioclétien et rattachée au diocèse du Pont.
[4]
Un archimandrite est, dans les Églises de rite byzantin, un titre honorifique
accordé aux higoumènes (supérieurs de monastère) ou aux recteurs (curés) de
paroisses importantes.
[5]
L’affaire dite des Trois Chapitres s’inscrit dans les efforts de Justinien 1er
pour réconcilier sur le plan religieux les parties orientale et occidentale de
son empire en les persuadant que les décisions du concile de Chalcédoine de 451
étaient conformes à la christologie de l’école d’Alexandrie. En 544, il publia
un édit en trois chapitres, le premier condamnant Théodore de Mopsueste, les
deux autres condamnant les écrits jugés pro-nestoriens de Théodoret de Cirrhe
et la lettre adressée par l’évêque d’Édesse, Ibas, à Mari.
[6]
Le deuxième concile de Constantinople s’est tenu du 5 mai au 2 juin 553. Ce fut
le cinquième des sept conciles œcuméniques reconnus à la fois par l’Église
catholique romaine et l’Église orthodoxe. Convoqué par l’empereur Justinien, il
fut présidé par le patriarche Eutychius de Constantinople et réunit 152 évêques
venant principalement d’Orient. Seuls 16 évêques d’Occident étaient présents,
dont 9 d’Illyrie et 7 d’Afrique, mais aucun d’Italie. Par ce concile, Justinien
voulait faire confirmer par l’Église sa condamnation édictée en 553 contre les
écrits de 3 évêques se rattachant à l’école théologique d’Antioche :
Théodore de Mopsueste, Théodoret de Cyr et Ibas d’Édesse.
[7]
Ancienne église chrétienne de Constantinople du vie siècle, devenue une mosquée
au 15ème siècle sous l’impulsion du sultan Mehmet II. Elle est édifiée sur la
péninsule historique d’Istanbul. Depuis 1934, elle n’étaitt plus un lieu de
culte mais un musée. en 2020 elle redevient une mosquée
[8]
L’aphthartodocétisme est une doctrine apparue au début du 6ème siècle
enseignant l’incorruptibilité du corps du Christ avant sa résurrection. Cette
doctrine christologique a connu son heure de gloire sous Justinien, qui,
d’après le De sectis attribué à Léonce de Byzance, aurait fini par y adhérer.
Elle consiste à dire que le corps du Christ étant inséparable de sa divinité
(selon un point de vue propre à Cyrille d’Alexandrie et au monophysisme), il
n’a pas pu lui-même, de par sa nature propre, s’altérer dans la mort ni même
souffrir, Dieu n’étant pas sujet à la corruption de la matière. Elle a été
formulée par Julien d’Halicarnasse, d’où le nom de Julianistes donné parfois à
ses partisans. On les appelle aussi Phantasiates (les souffrances du Christ,
quoique réelles, sont apparentes, elles ne sont pas dues à sa nature mais à sa
volonté) et Gaianites (du nom du premier évêque de l’Église dissidente, qui a
essaimé principalement dans le monde syriaque). Justinien y adhéra à la fin de
sa vie, et la consacra par un édit de janvier 565. Il s’aliéna ainsi tout le
clergé orthodoxe et fit déposer et exiler le patriarche de Constantinople
Eutychius.
[9]
Chalcédoine est une cité grecque de Bithynie (actuellement en Turquie), située
sur l’entrée orientale du Pont-Euxin, face à Byzance et au sud de Chrysopolis
(Scutari, actuellement Üsküdar). La ville turque de Kadıköy est aujourd’hui
située sur l’emplacement de Chalcédoine, dans le prolongement d’Üsküdar. Elle
fait partie, avec le reste du royaume de Bithynie, du legs de Nicomède IV à
l’Empire romain en 74 av. jc. Elle subit l’invasion de Mithridate VI, qui est
ensuite chassé par Lucullus. De nouveau dans le giron de l’Empire romain, elle
redevient une ville libre. Chalcédoine accueille le quatrième concile
œcuménique des chrétiens en 451. Chosroès II, roi des Perses Sassanides,
assiège la ville en 602 et s’en empare pour venger le meurtre de son ami
Maurice Tibère ; il menace alors directement Constantinople dirigée par
Phocas. La ville revient à l’empire l’année suivante, avant d’être à nouveau
assiégée (mais non prise) par les Perses en 617 et 626, puis par mer, par les
Arabes, en 678 et 718.
[10]
Büyükada est la plus grande (5,4 km2) des neuf îles constituant les îles des
Princes dans la mer de Marmara, à proximité d’İstanbul.
[11]
Un apocrisiaire est dans l’Empire byzantin soit un ambassadeur impérial , soit,
de façon plus spécifique, un messager ou un représentant ecclésiastique. Dans
cette seconde acception, l’apocrisiaire est le représentant d’une autorité
ecclésiastique locale ou régionale, comme les évêques et les higoumènes, au
siège du ressort supérieur dont elle dépend, métropole ou patriarcat. Cette
institution apparaît dès le 5ème siècle avant d’être généralisée par Justinien.
Les patriarcats, archevêchés et sièges métropolitains les plus importants
envoient à leur tour des apocrisiaires à la cour impériale, à Constantinople.
SOURCE : https://www.ljallamion.fr/spip.php?article8791
Patriarch
Eutychius of Constantinople
Ο
Άγιος Ευτύχιος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως
Saint Eutychius of
Constantinople
Also
known as
Eutichio
5
April on some calendars
Profile
The son of Alexander, a
general in the imperial Byzantine army of
Belisarius. Monk at
Amasea in Pontus (in modern Turkey) at age 30. Archimandrite of
a monastery in Constantinople (modern
Istanbul, Turkey). Patriarch of Constantinople from 552,
nominated by Justinian the Great and confirmed by Pope Vigilius.
With Apollinarius of Alexandria and Domnus III of Antioch, he called and led a
council from 5
May to 2
June 553 to
deal with the Three-Chapter
Controversy, and Eutychius composed the decree against the Chapters.
He consecrated the re-building of the Hagia Sophia church in 562.
Beginning in 564,
Eutychius came into theological conflict
with emperor Justinian who began to believe the Aphthartodocetae who taught
that Jesus’s body was incorrupt, not subject to pain, and thus that he was not
fully human as well as fully God. Bishop Eutychius
began to speak and write against
this heresy,
which led to his arrest,
while celebrating Mass,
on 22
January 565.
Justinian tried to have a show trial, but Eutychius refused to cooperate, which
led to him being exiled for
over 12 years.
In October 577,
with the support of emperor Justin II, Eutychius was recalled and resumed his
seat as patriarch of Constantinople.
He was welcomed back to the city by Christians who
were so happy to see him that there was a festival and banquets; the Communion
line at his first Mass lasted
six hours. Toward the end of his life, Eutychius got it into his head that the
return of Christ would be spiritual, with no physical return, which is heretical,
but he later returned to orthodox thinking on the matter. A surviving biography
of his life was written by
his chaplain, Eustathius of Constantinople.
Born
c.512 in
Theion, Phrygia
6
April 582 in Constantinople (modern
Istanbul, Turkey) of natural causes
Additional
Information
Dictionary
of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
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en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
sites
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in nederlandse
MLA
Citation
“Saint Eutychius of
Constantinople“. CatholicSaints.Info. 5 April 2024. Web. 6 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eutychius-of-constantinople/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eutychius-of-constantinople/
Saints
of the Day – Eutychius of Constantinople, Bishop
Article
Died 582. After he was
appointed patriarch of Constantinople in 552, Saint Eutychius bravely opposed
Emperor Justinian’s interference in Church affairs. For this reason, he was
exiled for twelve years. Eutychius is highly honored in the Eastern Church
(Benedictines).
MLA
Citation
Katherine I
Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
9 August 2023. Web. 6 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-eutychius-of-constantinople-bishop/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-eutychius-of-constantinople-bishop/
Eutychius of
Constantinople
Eutychius Of
Constantinople "was originally a monk of the town of Amaseia, whence he
was sent by his fellow-citizens to Constantinople as proxy for their bishop.
The great talent he displayed in some theological controversy gained him
general admiration, and the emperor, in A.D. 553, raised him to the highest
dignity in the Church at Constantinople. In the same year he accordingly
presided at an oecumenical synod which was held in that city. In A.D. 564 he
incurred the anger of the emperor Justinian by refusing to give his assent to a
decree respecting the incorruptibility of the body of Christ previous to his
resurrection, and was expelled from his see in consequence. He was at first
confined in a monastery, then transported to an island, Princepo, and at last
to his original convent, Amaseia. In 578 the emperor Tiberius restored him to
his see, which he henceforth retained until his death in 585, at the age of 73.
There is extant by him a letter addressed to pope Vigilius on the occasion of
his elevation in A.D. 553. It is printed in Greek and Latin among the Acta
Synodi quintce Concil. v. 425, etc. He also wrote some other treatises,
which, however, are lost" (Smith, Dict. of Biography, s.v.). —
Evagrius, Hist. Eccl. 4:38; Cave, Hist. Lit. (Genev. 1720)
1:341.
SOURCE : https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/E/eutychius-of-constantinople.html
EUTYCHIUS, PATRIARCH OF
CONSTANTINOPLE
Patriarch from 552 to 565
and 577 to 582; b. Theium, Phrygia, 512; d. Constantinople, April 5, 582.
Eutychius made his studies in Constantinople and returned to Amasea, where he
was ordained, became a monk and archimandrite or abbot. While stationed as
the apocrisiarius of the metropolitan of Amasea at Constantinople, he
was selected by Justinian
I to replace Patriarch Mennas (d. Aug. 24, 552); he entered into
relations with Pope Vigilius I, residing in the capital because of the
controversy over the Three Chapters, and presided over the Council of
Constantinople II (June 553). He was banished by Justinian (565) for his
opposition to Aphthartodocetism to which the Emperor had been persuaded in his
old age; but was restored as patriarch by Justin II in 577. With the
papal apocrisiarius at Constantinople, later Pope Gregory I, he
engaged in a controversy on the resurrection of the flesh, resulting apparently
from a tract on Origenism written by the patriarch that has not been preserved.
He likewise wrote against the Monophysite interpretation of the Trisagion.
Fragments of a treatise on the Eucharist have been preserved, as have his
letter to Pope Vigilius and the decision of the Council of Constantinople
prepared under his guidance. He died during Vespers for the octave of Easter,
having received a visit from the Emperor Tiberius. His vita was written by his
disciple and companion Eustratius; and in 1246 his body was brought to Venice,
where it was interred in the church of St. George the Great.
Feast: April 6 (Oriental
Church).
Bibliography: Patrologia
Graeca 86.2:2267–2406. R. Janin, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie
ecclésiastiques 16:94–95. Das Konzil von Chalkidon: Geschichte und
Gegenwart. Kirche und theologische Literatur im byzantinischen Reich 380,
410. K. Baus, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche 3:1215. Histoire
du Bas-Empire, ed. J. R. Palanque 2:654–681. V. Grumel, Les Regestes des
actes du patriarcat de Constantinople 244–249, 260–263.
[J. Bentivegna]
New Catholic Encyclopedia
Eutychius I
Patriarch of
Constantinople, b. about 512, in Phrygia; d. Easter Day, 5 April,
582. He became a monk and
then archimandrite at
Amasea, in Pontus.
In 552 his bishop sent
him on business to Constantinople, where he seems to have made a great
impression on Justinian I (527-565), so much so that when Mennas the Patriarch (536-552)
died, the emperor procured Eutychius's election as successor, on the very same
day (in August). The great quarrel of "the Three
Chapters" was then going on. Justinian thought he could
conciliate the Monophysites,
in Egypt,
and Syria, by
publishing anathemas against
three theologians —
long dead — who were suspect of the opposite heresy, Nestorianism. The three
points (called kephálaia, capitula) were: (1) the condemnation of
the person and
works of Theodore of
Mopsuestia (428); (2) the condemnation of the writings of Theodoret of Cyrus (c.
457) against the Council of Ephesus; (3) a letter of one Ibas, to a Persian named
Maris, which attacked that Council. It should be noted that these documents
certainly were Nestorian,
and that their condemnation involved no real concession to Monophysitism. The
question at issue was rather, whether it were worth while, on the chance of
conciliating these Monophysites,
to condemn people who had died so long ago. It is also true that, in the
West, people suspected in these Three Chapters a veiled attack on Chalcedon.
Justinian's "Edict of the Chapters" appeared in 544. It was accepted
in the East and rejected in the West. Pope Vigilius (540-555)
was the unhappy victim of the quarrel. In 548 he accepted the Edict by a
Iudicatum, which also carefully guarded Chalcedon. He had himself just come to
Constantinople, in order to preside at a Council that should confirm the
three anathemas.
But he found that, by his Iudicatum, he had grievously offended his own
Western bishops.
Dacius of Milan,
and Facundus of
Hermiane led the opposition against him, and in 550 a Synod of Carthage excommunicated the Pope. Vigilius then
began that career of indecision that has left him the reputation of being the
weakest Pope that reigned. He was still at Constantinople when Eutychius became
Patriarch. Eutychius sent him the usual announcement of his own appointment and
the usual (and quite orthodox)
profession of faith.
At the same time, he urged him to summon the Council at once. Meanwhile
Justinian had published a second, and still stronger, condemnation of the Three
Chapters (23 Dec., 551). Vigilius gave, and then withdrew, his consent to the
Council. Justinian insisted on the exclusion of the African bishops, who were all
strongly opposed to his condemnations. In spite of the Pope's refusal, the
council met on 5 May, 553, at Constantinople. A hundred and sixty-five bishops attended.
This is what was afterwards recognized as the Fifth General Council
(Constantinople II). On 14 May the Pope sent them a modified Decree, called the
Constitution, in which he condemned sixty propositions taken from Theodore of Mopsuestia,
but forbade the condemnation of the other Chapters. As he would not attend the
council Eutychius presided. The Council wrote respectfully to the Pope, but, in spite of
the Constitution, completely confirmed Justinian's edicts, in its eighth
session. It also acknowledged the formula Unus de Trinitate passus est as orthodox, and
incidentally condemned Origen. (Can. 11, 12,
13, 14. For this Council see Liberati Breviarium, infra; Mansi, IX, 163; Hefele,
Conciliengesch., 2nd ed., II, 898 sqq.) Vigilius gave in on 8 December, after
months of ill-treatment, was allowed to go back to Rome, and died on the
way, in Sicily,
in 554. [There is an account of all this story in Fortescue's Orth. Eastern Church, 82-83.]
Eutychius had, so far,
stood by the Emperor throughout. He composed the decree of the
Council against The
Chapters (Mansi,
IX, 367-575). In 562, he consecrated the new
church of Sancta Sophia. His next adventure was a quarrel with Justinian about
the Aphthartodocetes. These were a sect of Monophysites, in Egypt, who said
that Christ's body
on earth was incorruptible (’aphthorá), and subject to no pain. The Emperor saw
in the defence of these people a new means of conciliating the Monophysites, and, in
564, he published a decree defending
their theory (Evagrius,
Hist. Eccl., IV, 391). Eutychius resisted this decree, so on 22
January, 565, he was arrested in the church, and banished to a monastery at
Chalcedon. Eight days later a synod was summoned to judge him. A ridiculous
list of charges was brought against him; he used ointment, he ate deliciously,
etc. (Eustathius, Vita S. Eutych., 4, 5). He was condemned, deposed, and sent
to Prince's Island in Propontis. Thence he went to his old home at Amasea,
where he stayed twelve years. Joannes Scholasticus succeeded as Patriarch (John III, 566-577); and
after his death, in 577, the Emperor Justin II (565-578) recalled Eutychius,
who came back in October. At the end of his life Eutychius evolved a heretical opinion
denying the resurrection
of the body. St.
Gregory the Great was then Apocrisiarius (legate) of the Roman See, at
Constantinople. He argued about this question with the patriarch, quoting Luke 24:39, with
great effect, so that Eutychius, on his death-bed, made a full and orthodox profession
of faith as
to this point. St.
Gregory tells the whole story in his "Exp. in libr. Job"
(Moralium lib. XIV, 56); Eutychius dying said: "I confess that we shall
all rise again in this flesh". (See also Paul. Diac.: Vita Greg. Mag. I,
9.) His extant works are his letter to Pope Vigilius (Migne, P.L., LXIX, 63,
P.G. LXXXVI, 2401), a fragment of a "Discourse on Easter" (Mai:
Class. Auct. X, 488, and Script. Vet. Nov. Coll. IX, 623); and other fragments
in P.G., LXXXVI. His life was written by his disciple Eustathius, a priest of
Constantinople. His feast is
kept by the Byzantine
Church on 6 April, and he is mentioned in our "Corpus Iuris"
(Grat., I pars., Dist. XVI, Cap. x).
Sources
EUSTATHIUS, Vita St.
Eutychii in Acta SS., April, I, 550-573; EVAGRIUS, Hist.
Eccl., IV, 37, 38; V, 16, 18; HEFELE, Conciliengesch., II, II,
852, etc.
Fortescue,
Adrian. "Eutychius I." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
5. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1909. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05638b.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by WGKofron. With thanks to Fr.
John Hilkert, Akron, Ohio.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. May 1, 1909. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John
M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05638b.htm
Dictionary
of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century –
Eutychius
Article
Saint, patriarch of
Constantinople. His biography, composed by his chaplain Eustathius, has been
preserved entire. Eutychius was born at Theium in Phrygia c. 512. His father
Alexander was a general under Belisarius. Eutychius took the monastic habit at
Amasea at the age of 30, c.542.
As an archimandrite at
Constantinople he stood high in favour with the patriarch Mennas, at whose
death in 552 he was nominated by Justinian to the vacant chair.
At the beginning of 553
Eutychius wrote to pope Vigilius, making his profession of the Catholic faith,
declaring his acceptance of the four councils and the letters of Saint Leo, and
requesting Vigilius to preside over the council that was to be held on the
question of the Three Chapters. Vigilius refused, and Eutychius shared the
first place in the assembly with the patriarchs Apollinarius of Alexandria and
Domninus of Antioch. At the second session the pope excused himself again, on
the ground of ill-health. The subscription of Eutychius to the Acts of this
synod, which sat from May 5 to June 2, 553, is a summary of the decrees against
the Three Chapters.
Eutychius came into
violent collision with Justinian in 564, when the emperor adopted the tenets of
the Aphthartodocetae. Eutychius, in a long address, demonstrated the
incompatibility of that theory with Scripture; but Justinian insisted on his
subscribing to it, and finding him uncompromising, ordered his arrest. On 22
January 565, Eutychius was at the holy table celebrating the feast-day of Saint
Timotheus in the church adjoining the Hormisdas palace, when soldiers broke
into the patriarchal residence, entered the church, and carried the patriarch
away, first to a monastery called Choracudis, and the next day to that of Saint
Osias near Chalcedon. The 8th day after this outrage Justinian called an
assembly of princes and prelates, to which he summoned Eutychius. The charges
against him were trifling and absurd: that he used ointments, ate delicate
meats, and prayed long. Cited thrice, Eutychius replied that he would only come
if he were to be judged canonically, in his own dignity, and in command of his
clergy. Condemned by default, he was sent to an island in the Propontis named
Principus, and afterwards to his old monastery at Amasea, where he spent 12
years and 5 months. On the death of Joannes Scholasticus, whom Justinian had
put in the patriarchal chair, the people of Constantinople loudly demanded the
return of Eutychius. Justin II had succeeded Justinian, and had associated with
himself the young Tiberius. The emperors immediately sent an honourable
deputation to Amasea to bring back Eutychius, who returned with great joy to
Constantinople in October 577. An immense concourse met him, shouting aloud,
“Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” and “Glory to God in the
highest, on earth peace.” In questionable imitation of our Lord he entered on
an ass’s colt, over garments spread on the ground, the crowd carrying palms,
dancing, and singing. The whole city was illuminated, public banquets were
held, new buildings inaugurated. Next day he was met by the two emperors with
conspicuous honour at the church of the Virgin in Blachernae. He then proceeded
to the great church, which was filled from end to end, mounted the pulpit, and
blessed the multitude. He was six hours distributing the communion, as all
wished to receive from his own hands.
Towards the end of his
life Eutychius maintained that after the resurrection the body will be more
subtle than air, and no longer palpable. Gregory the Great, then residing at
Constantinople as delegate of the Roman church, felt himself bound to oppose
this opinion. The emperor Tiberius talked to the disputants separately, and
tried to reconcile them; but the breach was persistent. Eutychius breathed his
last quietly on Sunday after Easter Day, 5 April 582, aged 70 years. Some of
his friends told Gregory that, a few minutes before his end, he touched the
skin of his hand, saying, “I confess that in this flesh we shall rise again”.
The chronology of his
life here followed is that fixed by Henschen in his introductory argument to
the Life by Eustathius. His literary remains are his letter to pope Vigilius
already mentioned, printed in Greek and Latin by Mansi, and by Migne, and some
fragments of a Discourse on Easter and the Holy Eucharist. In this treatise Eutychius
argues against the Quartodecimans, against the Hydroparastatae who use water
instead of wine at communion (he says that the only apostolic tradition is the
mixture of both), against certain schismatic Armenians who used only wine, and
against some Greeks and Armenians who adored the elements as soon as they were
offered and before consecration. The lost work of Eutychius was a discourse on
the manner of existence of reasonable natures in space, a sort of physical
theory of the future life.
MLA
Citation
William Macdonald
Sinclair. “Eutychius”. Dictionary of Christian
Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century, 1911. CatholicSaints.Info.
5 April 2019. Web. 6 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/dictionary-of-christian-biography-and-literature-to-the-end-of-the-sixth-century-eutychius/>
Eutychius
Eutychius (18), St.,
patriarch of Constantinople. His biography, composed by his chaplain
Eustathius, has been preserved entire. Eutychius was born at Theium in
Phrygia c. 512. His father Alexander was a general under Belisarius.
Eutychius took the monastic habit at Amasea at the age of 30, c. 542.
As an archimandrite at
Constantinople he stood high in favour with the patriarch Mennas, at whose
death in 552 he was nominated by Justinian to the vacant chair.
At the beginning of 553
Eutychius wrote to pope Vigilius, making his profession of the Catholic faith,
declaring his acceptance of the four councils and the letters of St. Leo, and
requesting Vigilius to preside over the council that was to be held on the
question of the Three Chapters. Vigilius refused, and Eutychius shared the
first place in the assembly with the patriarchs Apollinarius of Alexandria and
Domninus of Antioch. At the second session the pope excused himself again, on
the ground of ill-health. The subscription of Eutychius to the Acts of this
synod, which sat from May 5 to June 2, 553, is a summary of the decrees against
the Three Chapters.
Eutychius came into
violent collision with Justinian in 564, when the emperor adopted the tenets of
the Aphthartodocetae. Eutychius, in a long address, demonstrated the
incompatibility of that theory with Scripture; but Justinian insisted on his
subscribing to it, and finding him uncompromising, ordered his arrest. On Jan.
22, 565, Eutychius was at the holy table celebrating the feast-day of St.
Timotheus in the church adjoining the Hormisdas palace (cf. du Cange, Cpolis.
Chr. lib. ii. p. 96, lib. iv. p. 93, ed. 1729), when soldiers broke into
the patriarchal residence, entered the church, and carried the patriarch away,
first to a monastery called Choracudis, and the next day to that of St. Osias
near Chalcedon. The 8th day after this outrage Justinian called an assembly of
princes and prelates, to which he summoned Eutychius. The charges against him
were trifling and absurd: that he used ointments, ate delicate meats, and
prayed long. Cited thrice, Eutychius replied that he would only come if he were
to be judged canonically, in his own dignity, and in command of his clergy.
Condemned by default, he was sent to an island in the Propontis named
Principus, and afterwards to his old monastery at Amasea, where he spent 12
years and 5 months. On the death of Joannes Scholasticus, whom Justinian had
put in the patriarchal chair, the people of Constantinople loudly demanded the
return of Eutychius. Justin II. had succeeded Justinian, and had associated
with himself the young Tiberius. The emperors immediately sent an honourable
deputation to Amasea to bring back Eutychius, who returned with great joy to
Constantinople in Oct. 577. An immense concourse met him, shouting aloud,
"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord," and "Glory
to God in the highest, on earth peace." In questionable imitation of our
Lord he entered on an ass's colt, over garments spread on the ground, the crowd
carrying palms, dancing, and singing. The whole city was illuminated, public
banquets were held, new buildings inaugurated. Next day he was met by the two
emperors with conspicuous honour at the church of the Virgin in Blachernae. He
then proceeded to the great church, which was filled from end to end, mounted
the pulpit, and blessed the multitude. He was six hours distributing the
communion, as all wished to receive from his own hands.
Towards the end of his
life Eutychius maintained that after the resurrection the body will be more
subtle than air, and no longer palpable. Gregory the Great, then residing at
Constantinople as delegate of the Roman church, felt himself bound to oppose this
opinion. The emperor Tiberius talked to the disputants separately, and tried to
reconcile them; but the breach was persistent. Eutychius breathed his last
quietly on Sunday after Easter Day, Apr. 5, 582, aged 70 years. Some of his
friends told Gregory that, a few minutes before his end, he touched the skin of
his hand, saying, "I confess that in this flesh we shall rise again"
(Paul. Diac. Vit. Greg. Mag. lib. i. capp. 9, 27-30; Vit. Greg. ex
ejus Script. lib. i. cap. 5, §§ 6-8; Greg. Mag. Moral. xiv.
§§ 72-74).
The chronology of his
life here followed is that fixed by Henschen in his introductory argument to
the Life by Eustathius (Boll. Acta SS. 6 Ap. i. 550). His literary
remains are his letter to pope Vigilius already mentioned, printed in Greek and
Latin by Mansi (ix. 186), and by Migne (Patr. Lat. lxix. 63; Patr.
Gk. lxxxvi. 2401), and some fragments of a Discourse on Easter and
the Holy Eucharist (Migne, Patr. Gk. lxxxvi. 2391). In this
treatise Eutychius argues against the Quartodecimans, against the
Hydroparastatae who use water instead of wine at communion (he says that the
only apostolic tradition is the mixture of both), against certain schismatic
Armenians who used only wine, and against some Greeks and Armenians who adored
the elements as soon as they were offered and before consecration. The lost
work of Eutychius was a discourse on the manner of existence of reasonable
natures in space, a sort of physical theory of the future life. Patr. Gk. lxxxix.
§§ 2270-2389; Bolland. AA. SS. Ap. i. 548; ib. App. p.
lix. in Greek; Surius, de Prob. Hist. SS. Apr. p. 82 ; Evagr.
iv. 37; Theoph. Chronogr. 193, 201, 202, 203, 210, 211, 212, 213;
Cave, i. 527.
[W.M.S.]
Wace, Henry; and William Coleman Piercy (eds.). Dictionary
of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century (3rd ed.).
London: John Murray. - Dictionary
of Christian Biography and Literature
Saint Eutychius,
Patriarch of Constantinople
Commemorated on April 6
Saint Eutychius,
Archbishop of Constantinople, was born in a village called “Divine” in the
province of Phrygia. His father Alexander was a soldier, and his mother Synesia
was the daughter of the priest Hesychius of Augustopolis. Saint Eutychius
received the first rudiments of his education and a Christian upbringing from
his grandfather the priest.
Once, while playing a
childhood game, the boy wrote his own name with the title of Patriarch. By this
he seemed to predict his future service. He was sent to Constantinople at age
twelve for further education. The youth persevered in his study of science and
realized that human wisdom is nothing in comparison to the study of divine
Revelation. Therefore, he decided to dedicate himself to monastic life. Saint
Eutychius withdrew into one of the Amasean monasteries and received the angelic
schema. For his strict life he was made archimandrite of all the Amasean
monasteries, and in 552 was appointed to the Patriarchal throne.
When the Fifth Ecumenical
Council prepared to assemble during the reign of the holy emperor Justinian
(527-565), the Metropolitan of Amasea was ill and he sent Saint Eutychius in
his place. At Constantinople the aged Patriarch Saint Menas (August 25) saw
Saint Eutychius and predicted that he would be the next Patriarch. After the
death of the holy Patriarch Menas, the Apostle Peter appeared in a vision to
the emperor Justinian and, pointing his hand at Eutychius, said, “Let him be
made your bishop.”
At the very beginning of his
patriarchal service, Saint Eutychius convened the Fifth Ecumenical Council
(553), at which the Fathers condemned the heresies cropping up and
anathematized them. However, after several years a new heresy arose in the
Church: Aphthartodocetism [asartodoketai] or “imperishability” which taught
that the flesh of Christ, before His death on the Cross and Resurrection, was
imperishable and not capable of suffering.
Saint Eutychius
vigorously denounced this heresy, but the emperor Justinian himself inclined
toward it, and turned his wrath upon the saint. By order of the emperor,
soldiers seized the saint in the church, removed his patriarchal vestments, and
sent him into exile to an Amasean monastery (565).
The saint bore his
banishment with meekness, and lived at the monastery in fasting and prayer, and
he worked many miracles and healings.
Thus, through his prayer
the wife of a devout man, Androgenes, who had given birth only to dead infants,
now gave birth to two sons who lived to maturity. Two deaf-mutes received the
gift of speech; and two grievously ill children were restored to health. The
saint healed a cancerous ulcer on the hand of an artist. The saint also healed
another artist, anointing his diseased hand with oil and making over it the
Sign of the Cross.
The saint healed not only
bodily, but also spiritual afflictions: he banished the devil out of a girl
that had kept her from Holy Communion; he expelled a demon from a youth who had
fled from a monastery (after which the youth returned to his monastery); he
healed a drunken leper, who stopped drinking after being cleansed of his
leprosy.
During the Persian
invasion of Amasea and its widespread devastation, they distributed grain to
the hungry from the monastery granaries on the saint’s orders, and by his
prayers, the stores of grain at the monastery were not depleted.
Saint Eutychius received
from God the gift of prophecy. He revealed the names of two of Emperor
Justinian’s successors: Justin (565-578) and Tiberias (578-582).
After the death of the
holy Patriarch John Scholastikos, Saint Eutychius returned to the cathedra in
577 after his twelve year exile, and he again wisely ruled his flock.
Four and a half years
after his return to the Patriarchal throne, in 582, Saint Eutychius gathered
together all his clergy on Thomas Sunday, blessed them, and peacefully fell
asleep in the Lord.
SOURCE : https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2016/04/06/101008-saint-eutychius-patriarch-of-constantinople
Patriarch
Eutychius of Constantinople
Ο
Άγιος Ευτύχιος Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως
Sant' Eutichio Patriarca
di Costantinopoli
Festa: 6 aprile
Theion, Frigia, 512 circa
- Costantinopoli, 6 aprile 582
Nato in Frigia nel 512
circa, Eutichio, monaco e presbitero, divenne Patriarca di Costantinopoli nel
552. Condannò i Tre Capitoli al Concilio del 553, guadagnandosi l'inimicizia di
Papa Vigilio. In seguito, per essersi opposto alle posizioni eretiche di Giustiniano,
fu esiliato per dieci anni. Ristabilito sulla sede patriarcale nel 577,
Eutichio si scontrò con Gregorio Magno sulla natura dei corpi resuscitati,
morendo infine nel 582. La sua figura, venerata sia dalla Chiesa bizantina che
latina, ci offre uno spaccato delle complesse vicende religiose e politiche
dell'epoca. La sua Vita, redatta dal discepolo Eustrato, e i suoi scritti, tra
cui un sermone pasquale e uno sull'Eucaristia, ci permettono di approfondire il
suo pensiero e il suo ruolo nella storia della Chiesa.
Martirologio
Romano: A Costantinopoli, sant’Eutichio, vescovo, che presiedette il
Concilio Ecumenico Costantinopolitano II, in cui lottò con forza in difesa
della retta fede e, dopo aver patito un lungo esilio, morendo professò la
resurrezione della carne.
Sant’Eutichio nacque nel borgo di Theion in Frigia verso il 512, fu educato ad Augustopoli ed intraprese gli studi a Costantinopoli. Si trasferì in seguito ad Amasea, capoluogo dell’Elenoponto, ed entrò nel monastero della città. In seguito accompagnò il vescovo a Costantinopoli e qui soggiornò presso la chiesa della Madre di Dio del quartiere di Urbicius nello Strategion. All’età di trent’anni ricevette l’ordinazione presbiterale, fece ritorno ad Amasea ove venne eletto egumeno del suo vecchio monastero, che sotto la sua guida divenne sempre più grande ed importante. Inviato nuovamente nella capitale imperiale quale delegato del vescovo di Amasea al concilio che si apprestava a condannare i “Tre Capitoli”, trovò il patriarca Menas ormai in fin di vita ed verso la fine dell’agosto 552 l’imperatore Giustiniano designò proprio Eutichio quale nuovo patriarca. Il 6 gennaio 553 Eutichio scrisse a Papa Vigilio per rassicurarlo circa la sua fedeltà ai quattro concili ecumenici ed alle lettere pontifice. Il 5 maggio si aprì il concilio, presieduto da Eutichio, ed i “tre Capitoli” vennero definitivamente condannati.
Un’altra questione teologica turbò però nuovamente la vita di Eutichio e dell’impero: verso la fine della sua vita Giustiniano cadde in posizioni eretiche e quando il patriarca osò opporsi lo fece arrestare il 25 gennaio 565 ed internare in diversi monasteri, per esiliarlo infine ad Amasea. Alla morte del nuovo patriarca Giovanni III lo Scolastico, il 12 settembre 577 l’imperatore Giustino II ristabilì Eutichio ad occupare la sede patriarcale che legittimamente gli spettava. Assai popolare, il vecchio patriarca fu ben accolto a Costantinopoli e visse in pace per cinque anni, salvo una controversia teologica con il futuro papa Gregorio Magno circa la natura dei corpi resuscitati, che Eutichio in una sua opera sosteneva fossero impalpabili. Il libro fu dato alle fiamme.
Eutichio morì infine il 6 aprile 582, giorno ancora oggi dedicato alla sua memoria tanto nella Chiesa bizantina che in quella latina. La sua Vita fu redatta dal prete Eustrato, suo discepolo e commensale, sotto l’imperatore Maurizio. Oltra alla sua lettera a Papa Vigilio, si conservano anche un suo sermone per la festa di Pasqua e sull’Eucaristia.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92492
EUTICHIO patriarca di
Costantinopoli, santo
di Mario Niccoli
Enciclopedia Italiana (1932)
Frigio di nascita e
monaco nel convento di Amasea nel Ponto, si recò a Costantinopoli per
partecipare al concilio convocato da Giustiniano per la questione dei Tre capitoli
(v.). Nell'agosto del 552, quando ancora il concilio non aveva iniziato i suoi
lavori, venne a morte il patriarca Mena ed E. fu chiamato a succedergli.
Avversario deciso della teologia antiochena, favorì al concilio la politica
religiosa di Giustiniano, intesa alla condanna dei Tre capitoli, e fece
pressioni perché il riluttante papa Vigilio partecipasse al concilio; ma quando
Giustiniano volle, nel 565, condannare gli aftartodoceti (v.), E. fu portato
dalla sua stessa tendenza teologica, sostanzialmente favorevole ad un moderato
monofisismo, ad opporsi decisamente al decreto imperiale. Fu arrestato, deposto
e inviato in esilio nel suo convento di Amasea. Nel 577 fu richiamato al
patriarcato da Giustino II e diresse la chiesa costantinopolitana fino alla
morte (582). Nel 562 aveva consacrato in Costantinopoli la nuova chiesa di
Santa Sofia. Una sua lettera a Vigilio ed altri suoi scritti sono editi
in Patrol. graeca (LXXXVI, coll. 2391-2406; precede [coll.
2273-2390] la vita di lui scritta dal suo discepolo Eustazio). La Chiesa lo
commemora il 6 aprile.
Bibl.: J. Hefele e H.
Leclerq, Hist. des conciles, III, i, Parigi 1909, pagina 64 segg.; L.
Duchesne, L'Église au VIe siècle, Parigi 1925, pp. 205, 210, 217,
265, 270 segg.; J. Tixeront, Hist. des dogmes, III, Parigi 1922, pp.
237-238, 251-252, 261; G. Krüger, in Realencykl. für prot. Theol. und
Kirche, V, p. 648; Acta Sanctorum, Aprile, II, Anversa 1675, pp. 548-572.
© Istituto della
Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani - Riproduzione riservata
