Background
Photius was born on Constantinople, Turkey in 820.
( Photius was a ninth-century patriarch of Constantinople...)
Photius was a ninth-century patriarch of Constantinople who compiled summaries of 280 books he had read, known at the Bibliotheca. It deals with Attic, Hellenistic, Roman imperial and Byzantine sources, about half of which are now lost. Here Nigel Wilson presents an annotated edition in translation of a wide selection from these book reviews, with the aim of revealing the breadth of Photius' interests.
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Photius was born on Constantinople, Turkey in 820.
Photius was trained from his early years to be a philosopher and scholar.
Photius taught at the Imperial Academy at Constantinople. He became known to the imperial court when his brother Sergius married the sister of Empress Theodora. Appointments followed. He was put in charge of the Chancellery and became a member of the Senate. While he was absent on a diplomatic mission to the Arabian caliph in 855, there was a palace revolt. Empress Theodora was deposed by her brother Bardas. Photius was recalled, ordained priest and bishop within 6 days, and then appointed patriarch to replace Ignatius, who had been forced to resign by the new regent, Bardas.
Pope Nicholas I confirmed all these actions except the nomination of Photius, in spite of the fact that all the bishops of the Church acknowledged Photius as patriarch. Photius was excommunicated by Nicholas, and he responded by summoning a synod in 867 and proposing to condemn all papal interference in the Eastern Church. The new emperor, Michael III, a supporter of Photius, requested Louis II of France to depose Pope Nicholas. Michael, however, was assassinated by Basil I, his coemperor. The latter became emperor and reinstated Patriarch Ignatius in November 867. Furthermore, a council called for the occasion and sitting from 867 to 870 condemned and excommunicated Photius, who then went into exile.
But the new emperor found that Photius remained the choice of the vast majority of the clergy, and eventually he was recalled from exile, reconciled with Patriarch Ignatius, and succeeded the latter when he died in 877. Photius's troubles, however, were not over. Emperor Leo VI, probably under strong pressure from the Pope and also because of palace intrigues, forced Photius to resign in 886. He retired to a monastery.
( Photius was a ninth-century patriarch of Constantinople...)
Photius is an important figure both in the history of relations between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Roman Catholic Church and in the literature and learning of Eastern Christianity.
