Joseph I of Constantinople

Joseph I Galesiotes (Greek: Ἰωσὴφ Α´ Γαλησιώτης; died 23 March 1283) was a Byzantine monk who served twice as Patriarch of Constantinople, from 1266 to 1275 and from 1282 until shortly before his death in 1283. He is most notable as an opponent of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos' plans to unite the Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church, for which he is recognized as a confessor by the Orthodox Church.

Life

After being married for eight years he became a monk. He served as a lector (anagnostes) from 1222 until 1254, and in 1259/60 became abbot of the Lazaros monastery on Mount Galesios.^[1]^[2] Joseph became the confessor to Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (reigned 1259–82). In this capacity, he was sent in 1264 by Michael to Patriarch Arsenios Autoreianos to seek the lifting of the Patriarch's excommunication of the Emperor on account of the blinding of the young John IV Laskaris (r. 1258–61). Arsenios remained intransigent, however, and at length Michael deposed him and on 28 December 1266 named Joseph to the patriarchate. Joseph soon issued a pardon to the emperor, which enraged the supporters of his predecessor and exacerbated the so-called "Arsenite schism".^[1]^[2]

In 1272 Joseph officiated at the coronation of Andronikos II Palaiologos as co-emperor, but soon fell out with Michael VIII over the latter's projected union of the Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church.^[1] For Michael, who was threatened by the ambitions of Charles of Anjou, the Union was the sole instrument for preventing a full-scale assault by the Western powers on his empire, but the Byzantine clergy and people almost universally opposed the concessions made to the Papacy on matters of doctrine and Papal supremacy.^[3] In 1273, Joseph swore an oath not to accept the Union under the terms set out by the Pope, and in early 1274, as the Byzantine delegation prepared to travel to Italy to effect the Union, retired from his official duties to the Peribleptos Monastery.^[1]^[2]

Joseph resigned his office on 9 January 1275, retiring to the Monastery of Anaplous and later to the town of Chele on the Black Sea coast, before returning to Constantinople in summer 1280 to the Monastery of Kosmidion.^[2] Following the death of Michael VIII in 1282, Andronikos II reversed his father's ecclesiastical policies, deposing the pro-Unionist John XI Bekkos and recalling Joseph to the patriarchate (31 December 1282). Joseph's poor health however forced him to resign his office shortly before his death on 23 March 1283.^[1]

Due to his staunch anti-Unionite stance, he was declared a confessor by his successor Gregory II.^[1] He was later canonized, and is celebrated on 30 October.^[4]

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Talbot 1991, p. 1073.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 PLP, 9072. Ἰωσὴφ I..
↑ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 189–206, 213–245, 258–276.
↑ "Ἰωσὴφ Α´" (in Greek). Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Retrieved 19 October 2014.

Sources

Geanakoplos, Deno John (1959). Emperor Michael Palaeologus and the West, 1258–1282 - A Study in Byzantine-Latin Relations. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Talbot, Alice-Mary (1991). "Joseph I". In Kazhdan, Alexander. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1073. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
Trapp, Erich; Walther, Rainer; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Sturm-Schnabl, Katja (1980). "9072. Ἰωσὴφ I.". Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit (in German) 4. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Germanus III	Patriarch of Constantinople 1266–1275	Succeeded by John XI
Preceded by John XI	Patriarch of Constantinople 1282–1283	Succeeded by Gregory II

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