Search

[German Version] , patriarch (born end 13th cent. – died 1363/1364, Serrhai) was a dis¶ ciple of Gregory Sinaites and lived, at least from 1314 onward, as a monk (from c. 1335 as a clerical monk) in the Magoula skete monastery, and from 1342 (?) until 1350 in the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos. As a hesychast (Hesychasm) and a companion of G. Palamas, he signed the Tomos Hagioreitikos in 1340. During the civil war of 1342, Callistus was a member of the peace embassy. Elected patriarch in June 1350, he presided over the synod of 1351 (against the a…

[German Version] (secular name: Georgios Angelopoulos; c. 1746, Dimitsana, Greece – Apr 10, 1821, Constantinople). Gregory was elected as metropolitan (II) of Smyrna in 1785 and was a member of the synod of the patriarchate from 1793 to 1795. He became patriarch three times after being removed twice from the patriarchal throne by the sultan (Apr 19, 1797–Dec 17, 1798; Sep 23, 1806–Sep 10, 1808 and Dec 14, 1818–Apr 10, 182…

[German Version] (incorrectly called Akominatos; c. 1155, Chonai/Phrygia – 1217, Nicea), an important Byzantine author. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1204, he fled to Selymbria, spent 1206–1207 in Constantinople once again and then settled in Nicea. There he initially gained influence at the court of Theodor Laskaris, but then retired and worked as an author until his death. In addition to his major opus (…

[German Version] (c. 810, Ebissa, Paphlagonia – Feb 11, 867, Constantinople), Byzantine empress. In 830 Theodora married the emperor Theophilos (829–842); after his death, she served as regent during the minority of her son Michael III (842–867). On her initiative, on Sunday, Mar 11, 843, a synod was held under the leadership of Methodius, the new patriarch; the synod declared the iconoclasts anathema and r…

[German Version] (Dec 1 or 14, 1878, Athens – Aug 10, 1959, Athens), an Orthodox theologian who first studied law (1893–1895) and then theology (1895–1899) at the University of Athens, and subsequently theology and philosophy in Jena, Leipzig, Halle, and Breslau (1900–1904). In 1905, he completed his habilitation in the discipline of dogmatics in …

[German Version] (baptized Constantine; 1018, Constantinople – 1078, 1081, or 1096/1097, Constantinople), one of the most important writers, philosophers, and statesmen of Byzantium. His teachers were ¶ Nicetas Byzantius and John Mauropous. He studied rhetoric, law, and phi…

[German Version] (c. 500, Constantinople [?] – Jun 28, 548, Constantinople), wife of the East Roman Emperor Justinian I. As the daughter …

[German Version] (“the Transcriber”; before 912, Constantinople – probably Nov 28, 987, presumably Constantinople), probably to be identified with Simeon Magistros and Simeon Logothetes; the most renowned Byzantine hagiographer. Simeon served as chancellor under the emperors Nicephorus Phocas, John Tsimisces, and Basil II; toward the end of his life, he withdrew to a monastery. He is considered a saint of the Orthodox Church (feast day Nov 28). He received the epithet Metaphrastes in recognition of his successful reworking of the Menologion (Menologies) in 10 volum…

[German Version] (secular name: Georgios Phourtouniadis; Mar 1, 1798, Phanaraki – Jun 8, 1881, Mega Reuma on the Bosporus), and consecrated as bishop (metropolitan [II] of Pelagoneia) in 1825. Gregory became metropolitan of Serrai in 1833, and retained this position as administrator until 1838, i.e. even after being elected patriar…

[German Version] (c. 1295, Herakleia on Pontos – 1359/60, Constantinople [?]), Byzantine historian, the nephew and student of Metropolitan John of Herakleia, ¶ became a monk in 1351. Around 1315, Gregoras came to Constantinople, where he studied with John Glykys and Theodoros Metochites and later wo…

[German Version] Joseph I, patriarch of Constantinople (died Mar 23, 1283, Constantinople). Joseph was initially a priest at the imperial court, then, after the death of his wife, a monk and abbot on Mount Galesion near Ephesus (hence the surname Galesiotes). After failing to mediate with Patriarch Arsenios in 1264 to lift the ban from Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, Joseph became patriarch himself on Dec 28, 1266, lifted the anathema in 1267, and thereby sparked the Arsenite controversy. As an …

[German Version] I. Ancient Athens – II. Church History – III. University I. Ancient Athens The name ᾽Αθῆναι, found already as “Atana” in a Mycenaean text, is inseparable from the wise and warlike Athena, the virgin goddess of the city. Mythology claims that she sprang from the head of Zeus and won Attica in a contest with Poseidon. Her attributes are the owl and a shield (Aegis) with the head of Medusa, set with snakes. 1. History. Athens was largely untouched by the catastrophe that befell Greece in the 11th/10th century bce; its pottery dominates the…