John X of Constantinople

John X Kamateros (Greek: Ἰωάννης Καματηρός) was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 5 August 1198 to April/May 1206.

John was a member of the Kamateros family, to which belonged the Empress Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera, wife of Alexios III Angelos (r. 1195–1203). An educated man, well versed in classical literature, rhetoric and philosophy, he occupied a series of ecclesiastical posts reaching the post of chartophylax, which he held at the time of his elevation to the patriarchal throne.^[1]

In 1198–1200 he had an exchange of letters with Pope Innocent III on the issue of papal supremacy and the filioque clause. Notably, he disputed Rome's claim to primacy based on St Peter, and asserted that in reality its primacy came from the fact that Rome was the old imperial capital.^[2] He intervened in the riots in Constantinople against the arrest of the banker Kalomodios, and secured his release,^[3] but during the coup of John Komnenos the Fat on 31 July 1200, he hid in a cupboard as the rebels seized control of the Hagia Sophia.

John remained in office after Alexios III's deposition in July 1203, and according to Western sources, both he and Alexios IV Angelos, threatened by the Fourth Crusade, acknowledged papal supremacy in the same year. After the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, he initially fled to Didymoteichon in Thrace. In 1206, Theodore I Laskaris invited him to Nicaea, where he had established the Empire of Nicaea, a Byzantine Greek successor state, but John refused, perhaps because of his advanced age, and died in April or May of the same year.^[4]

The Crusaders then installed a Latin Patriarch in Constantinople, while Theodore simply created a new Greek Patriarchate in Nicaea, which was eventually restored in Constantinople with the rest of the Empire in 1261.

References

↑ Kazhdan (1991), p. 1054
↑ Kazhdan (1991), pp. 1054–1055
↑ Kazhdan (1991), pp. 1055, 1096
↑ Kazhdan (1991), p. 1055

Sources

Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6

Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by George II Xiphilinos	Patriarch of Constantinople 1198–1206	Succeeded by Michael IV Autoreianos

Bishops of Byzantium and Patriarchs of Constantinople

Bishops of Byzantium (to 330 AD)	Andrew Stachys Onesimus Polycarpus I Plutarch Sedecion Diogenes Eleutherius Felix Polycarpus II Athenodorus Euzois Laurence Alypius Pertinax Olympianus Marcus I Philadelphus Cyriacus I Castinus Eugenius I Titus Dometius Rufinus Probus Metrophanes Alexander

Archbishops of Constantinople (330–451 AD)	Alexander Paul I Eusebius Macedonius I Eudoxius Evagrius Demophilus Maximus I Gregory I Nectarius John I Chrysostom Arsacius Atticus Sisinnius I Nestorius Maximianus Proclus Flavian Anatolius

Patriarchs of Constantinople Byzantine period (451–1453 AD)	Anatolius Gennadius I Acacius Fravitta Euphemius Macedonius II Timothy I John II Epiphanius Anthimus I Menas Eutychius John III John IV Cyriacus II Thomas I Sergius I Pyrrhus Paul II Peter Thomas II John V Constantine I Theodore I George I Paul III Callinicus I Cyrus John VI Germanus I Anastasius Constantine II Nicetas I Paul IV Tarasius Nicephorus I Theodotus I Antony I John VII Methodius I Ignatios Photios I Stephen I Antony II Nicholas I Εuthymius I Stephen II Tryphon Theophylact Polyeuctus Βasil I Αntony III Nicholas II Sisinnius II Sergius II Eustathius Alexius Michael I Constantine III John VIII Cosmas I Eustratius Nicholas III John IX Leo Michael II Cosmas II Nicholas IV Theodotus II Neophytus I Constantine IV Luke Michael III Chariton Theodosius I Basil II Nicetas II Leontius Dositheus George II John X Michael IV^† Theodore II^† Maximus II^† Μanuel I^† Germanus II^† Methodius II^† Manuel II^† Arsenius^† Nicephorus II^† Germanus III Joseph I John XI Gregory II Athanasius I John XII Nephon I John XIII Gerasimus I Isaias John XIV Isidore I Callistus I Philotheus Macarius Nilus Antony IV Callistus II Matthew I Euthymius II Joseph II Metrophanes II Gregory III Athanasius II

Patriarchs of Constantinople Ottoman period (1453–1923 AD)	Gennadius II Isidore II Joasaph I Sophronius I Mark II Symeon I Dionysius I Raphael I Maximus III Nephon II Maximus IV Joachim I Pachomius I Theoleptus I Jeremias I Joannicius I Dionysius II Joasaph II Metrophanes III Jeremias II Pachomius II Theoleptus II Matthew II Gabriel I Theophanes I Meletius I Neophytus II Raphael II Cyril I Timothy II Gregory IV Anthimus II Cyril II Athanasius III Neophytus III Parthenius I Parthenius II Joannicius II Cyril III Paisius I Parthenius III Gabriel II Parthenius IV Dionysius III Clement Methodius III Dionysius IV Gerasimus II Athanasius IV James Callinicus II Neophytus IV Gabriel III Neophytus V Cyprianus Athanasius V Cyril IV Cosmas III Jeremias III (Callinicus III) Paisius II Seraphim I Neophytus VI Cyril V Callinicus IV (III) Seraphim II Joannicius III Samuel Meletius II Theodosius II Sophronius II Gabriel IV Procopius Neophytus VII Gerasimus III Gregory V Callinicus V (IV) Jeremias IV Cyril VI Eugenius II Anthimus III Chrysanthus Agathangelus Constantius I Constantius II Gregory VI Anthimus IV Anthimus V Germanus IV Meletius III Anthimus VI Cyril VII Joachim II Sophronius III Joachim III Joachim IV Dionysius V Neophytus VIII Anthimus VII Constantine V Germanus V Meletius IV

Patriarchs of Constantinople Modern period (since 1923 AD)	Gregory VII Constantine VI Basil III Photios II Benjamin Maximus V Athenagoras Demetrius Bartholomew

^† in exile at Nicaea