John Scholasticus
Encyclopedia
John Scholasticus was the 32nd patriarch of Constantinople
from April 12, 565 until his death in 577. He is also regarded as a saint
of the Eastern Orthodox Church
.
He was born at Sirimis, in the region of Cynegia, near Antioch
. There was a flourishing college of lawyers at Antioch, where he entered and did himself credit. This was suppressed in 533 by Justinian I
. John was ordained and became agent and secretary of his church. This would bring him into touch with the court at Constantinople
. When Justinian, towards the close of his life, tried to raise the sect of the Aphthartodocetae
to the rank of orthodoxy, and determined to expel Eutychius
for his opposition, the able lawyer-ecclesiastic of Antioch, who had already distinguished himself by his great edition of the canons, was chosen to carry out the imperial will.
He was also credited for methodical classification of Canon law
, the Digest of Canon Law. Following some older work which he mentions in his preface, he abandoned the historical plan of giving the decrees of each council in order and arranged them on a philosophical principle, according to their matter. The older writers had sixty heads, but he reduced them to fifty.
To the canons of the councils of Nicaea
, Ancyra, Neocaesarea, Gangra, Antioch, Ephesus, and Constantinople
, already collected and received in the Greek church, John added 89 "Apostolical Canons," the 21 of Sardica
, and the 68 of the canonical letter of Basil. Writing to Photius, pope Nicholas I
cites a harmony of the canons which includes those of Sardica, which could only be that of John the Lawyer. When John came to Constantinople, he edited the Nomocanon, an abridgment of his former work, with the addition of a comparison of the imperial rescripts and civil laws (especially the Novels of Justinian) under each head. Balsamon
cites this without naming the author, in his notes on the first canon of the Trullan council of Constantinople
. In an MS. of the Paris library the Nomocanon is attributed to Theodoret
, but in all others to John. Theodoret would not have inserted the "apostolical canons" and those of Sardica, and the style has no resemblance to his. In 1661 these two works were printed at the beginning of vol. ii. of the Bibliotheca Canonica of Justellus
, at Paris. Photius (Cod. lxxv.) mentions his catechism, in which he established the teaching of the consubstantial Trinity, saying that he wrote it in 568, under Justin II
, and that it was afterwards attacked by the impious Philoponus
. Fabricius
considers that the Digest or Harmony and the Nomocanon are probably rightly assigned to John the Lawyer.
Little is known of his episcopal career. Seven months after his appointment Justinian died. The new emperor, Justin II
, was crowned by the patriarch, November 14, 565.
He organized a compromise between the Chalcedonians and Non-Chalcedonians in 567, and temporarily reunited the two sects in 571.
John died shortly before Justin in 577.
Fabricius
, xi. 101, xii. 146, 193, 201, 209; Evagr
. H. E. iv. 38, v. 13, Patr. Gk.
lxxxvi. pt. 2; Theoph.
Chronogr. 204, etc., Patr. Gk. cviii.; Niceph. Callist.
iii. 455, Patr. Gk. cxlvii.; Victor Tunun. Patr. Lat.
lxviii. 937; Baronius
, ad. ann. 564, xiv. xxix.; 565, xvii.; 578, 5; Patr. Constant. in Acta SS. Bolland.
Aug. i. p. * 67.
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
from April 12, 565 until his death in 577. He is also regarded as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
He was born at Sirimis, in the region of Cynegia, near Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
. There was a flourishing college of lawyers at Antioch, where he entered and did himself credit. This was suppressed in 533 by Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
. John was ordained and became agent and secretary of his church. This would bring him into touch with the court at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. When Justinian, towards the close of his life, tried to raise the sect of the Aphthartodocetae
Aphthartodocetae
The Aphthartodocetae were members of a 6th century Non-Chalcedonian sect. Their leader Julian, Bishop of Halicarnassus taught that Christ's body was always incorruptible...
to the rank of orthodoxy, and determined to expel Eutychius
Eutychius
Eutychius was the last Exarch of Ravenna .The exarchate had risen in revolt in 727 at the imposition of iconoclasm; the Exarch Paul lost his life attempting to quash the revolt. In response, Emperor Leo III sent the patrician Eutychius to take control of the situation. Eutychius landed in Naples,...
for his opposition, the able lawyer-ecclesiastic of Antioch, who had already distinguished himself by his great edition of the canons, was chosen to carry out the imperial will.
He was also credited for methodical classification of Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
, the Digest of Canon Law. Following some older work which he mentions in his preface, he abandoned the historical plan of giving the decrees of each council in order and arranged them on a philosophical principle, according to their matter. The older writers had sixty heads, but he reduced them to fifty.
To the canons of the councils of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...
, Ancyra, Neocaesarea, Gangra, Antioch, Ephesus, and Constantinople
Council of Constantinople
Council of Constantinople can refer to:*Council of Constantinople , a local council*First Council of Constantinople, the Second Ecumenical Council, in 381 or 383.*Synod of Constantinople , a local council which condemned Origen....
, already collected and received in the Greek church, John added 89 "Apostolical Canons," the 21 of Sardica
Council of Sardica
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Rite, which includes the whole southern part of Bulgaria. The remainder of Bulgaria is comprised in the Diocese of Nicopoli. The seat of the episcopal see is in Plovdiv. The diocese is immediately subject of...
, and the 68 of the canonical letter of Basil. Writing to Photius, pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I, , or Saint Nicholas the Great, reigned from April 24, 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority and power, exerting decisive influence upon the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of Western Europe.He...
cites a harmony of the canons which includes those of Sardica, which could only be that of John the Lawyer. When John came to Constantinople, he edited the Nomocanon, an abridgment of his former work, with the addition of a comparison of the imperial rescripts and civil laws (especially the Novels of Justinian) under each head. Balsamon
Theodore Balsamon
Theodore Balsamon was a canonist of the Greek Orthodox Church and 12th century Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.Born in the second half of the 12th century at Constantinople; died there, after 1195...
cites this without naming the author, in his notes on the first canon of the Trullan council of Constantinople
Third Council of Constantinople
The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and other Christian groups, met in 680/681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills...
. In an MS. of the Paris library the Nomocanon is attributed to Theodoret
Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...
, but in all others to John. Theodoret would not have inserted the "apostolical canons" and those of Sardica, and the style has no resemblance to his. In 1661 these two works were printed at the beginning of vol. ii. of the Bibliotheca Canonica of Justellus
Justellus
Justellus is a surname, and may refer to:* Christophe Justel, French scholar* Henri Justel, his son, Huguenot émigré in England...
, at Paris. Photius (Cod. lxxv.) mentions his catechism, in which he established the teaching of the consubstantial Trinity, saying that he wrote it in 568, under Justin II
Justin II
Justin II was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy...
, and that it was afterwards attacked by the impious Philoponus
John Philoponus
John Philoponus , also known as John the Grammarian or John of Alexandria, was a Christian and Aristotelian commentator and the author of a considerable number of philosophical treatises and theological works...
. Fabricius
Johann Albert Fabricius
Johann Albert Fabricius was a German classical scholar and bibliographer.-Biography:Fabricius was born at Leipzig, son of Werner Fabricius, director of music in the church of St. Paul at Leipzig, who was the author of several works, the most important being Deliciae Harmonicae...
considers that the Digest or Harmony and the Nomocanon are probably rightly assigned to John the Lawyer.
Little is known of his episcopal career. Seven months after his appointment Justinian died. The new emperor, Justin II
Justin II
Justin II was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy...
, was crowned by the patriarch, November 14, 565.
He organized a compromise between the Chalcedonians and Non-Chalcedonians in 567, and temporarily reunited the two sects in 571.
John died shortly before Justin in 577.
Fabricius
Johann Albert Fabricius
Johann Albert Fabricius was a German classical scholar and bibliographer.-Biography:Fabricius was born at Leipzig, son of Werner Fabricius, director of music in the church of St. Paul at Leipzig, who was the author of several works, the most important being Deliciae Harmonicae...
, xi. 101, xii. 146, 193, 201, 209; Evagr
Evagrius Scholasticus
Evagrius Scholasticus was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, Ecclesiastical History, comprises a six-volume collection concerning the Church's history from the First Council of Ephesus to Maurice’s...
. H. E. iv. 38, v. 13, Patr. Gk.
Patrologia Graeca
The Patrologia Graeca is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the ancient Koine or medieval variants of the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–1866 by J. P. Migne's Imprimerie Catholique...
lxxxvi. pt. 2; Theoph.
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
Chronogr. 204, etc., Patr. Gk. cviii.; Niceph. Callist.
Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopoulos
Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, latinized as Nicephorus Callistus Xanthopulus , of Constantinople, the last of the Greek ecclesiastical historians, flourished around 1320....
iii. 455, Patr. Gk. cxlvii.; Victor Tunun. Patr. Lat.
Patrologia Latina
The Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
lxviii. 937; Baronius
Caesar Baronius
Cesare Baronio was an Italian Cardinal and ecclesiastical historian...
, ad. ann. 564, xiv. xxix.; 565, xvii.; 578, 5; Patr. Constant. in Acta SS. Bolland.
Acta Sanctorum
Acta Sanctorum is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. It begins with two January volumes, published in 1643, and ended with the Propylaeum to...
Aug. i. p. * 67.