John VII, surnamed Grammatikos or Grammaticus, i.e., "the Grammarian" (Greek: Ἰωάννης Γραμματικός, Iōannīs Grammatikos; died before 867), was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from January 21, 837 to March 4, 843, died before 867. He is not to be confused with the much earlier philosopher John Philoponos.
This page of the iconoduleChludov Psalter illustrates the line "They gave me gall to eat; and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink" with a picture of a soldier offering Christ vinegar on a sponge attached to a pole. John the Grammarian is depicted rubbing out a painting of Christ with a similar sponge attached to a pole. John is caricatured, here as on other pages, with untidy straight hair sticking out in all directions, which was considered ridiculous by the Byzantines.
John, who began his clerical career c. 811, was also a painter of icons and a correspondent of Theodore of Stoudios. By 814 John had become an iconoclast, and Emperor Leo V chose him to head a committee to collect patristic texts supporting this theological position in preparation for the Synod of 815, which reinstated iconoclasm. John was rewarded for his efforts by being appointed abbot of the prestigious monastery of Sergius and Bacchus (now the Little Hagia Sophia), where recalcitrant iconodules were re-educated.
John was known for his learning (hence his nickname Grammatikos) and for his persuasive rhetoric in the endless debates that are a favorite subject of hagiographic sources reflecting the second period of the Iconoclasm. John was also charged with tutoring the future Emperor Theophilos during the reign of his father, Michael II, and is credited with instilling strong iconoclastic sympathies in his pupil. Upon Theophilos' accession, John was appointed synkellos (assistant to the patriarch), a position that made him a likely heir to the patriarchate. In c. 830, John was sent on an embassy to the Abbasid caliphal-Ma'mun, but this did little to prevent a period of fierce warfare between the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasids. He did, however, bring back a plan of the Abbasid palace in Baghdad for his emperor's amusement, and oversaw the construction of a similar structure in Bithynia.
The circumstances of John VII's patriarchate are unclear. Appointed patriarch in 837[3] by his disciple Theophilos, he may have been responsible for a slight increase in the persecution of the iconodules. He was deposed in 843 by Theophilos' widow, Theodora, his own relative, as a prelude to the end of iconoclasm. The deposed patriarch survived until the 860s.
john, constantinople, john, surnamed, grammatikos, grammaticus, grammarian, greek, Ἰωάννης, Γραμματικός, iōannīs, grammatikos, died, before, ecumenical, patriarch, constantinople, from, january, march, died, before, confused, with, much, earlier, philosopher, . John VII surnamed Grammatikos or Grammaticus i e the Grammarian Greek Ἰwannhs Grammatikos Iōannis Grammatikos died before 867 was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from January 21 837 to March 4 843 died before 867 He is not to be confused with the much earlier philosopher John Philoponos John VII of ConstantinopleEcumenical Patriarch of ConstantinopleInstalled837Term ended843Personal detailsDenominationChalcedonian ChristianityThis page of the iconodule Chludov Psalter illustrates the line They gave me gall to eat and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink with a picture of a soldier offering Christ vinegar on a sponge attached to a pole John the Grammarian is depicted rubbing out a painting of Christ with a similar sponge attached to a pole John is caricatured here as on other pages with untidy straight hair sticking out in all directions which was considered ridiculous by the Byzantines Life editJohn was born into an aristocratic family of Armenian descent 1 His father was Pankratios Morocharzanios and he had a brother Arsaber Warren Treadgold identifies the latter as Arsaber who married a sister of Empress Theodora wife of Emperor Theophilos John s sister was the mother of the future Patriarch Photios 2 John who began his clerical career c 811 was also a painter of icons and a correspondent of Theodore of Stoudios By 814 John had become an iconoclast and Emperor Leo V chose him to head a committee to collect patristic texts supporting this theological position in preparation for the Synod of 815 which reinstated iconoclasm John was rewarded for his efforts by being appointed abbot of the prestigious monastery of Sergius and Bacchus now the Little Hagia Sophia where recalcitrant iconodules were re educated John was known for his learning hence his nickname Grammatikos and for his persuasive rhetoric in the endless debates that are a favorite subject of hagiographic sources reflecting the second period of the Iconoclasm John was also charged with tutoring the future Emperor Theophilos during the reign of his father Michael II and is credited with instilling strong iconoclastic sympathies in his pupil Upon Theophilos accession John was appointed synkellos assistant to the patriarch a position that made him a likely heir to the patriarchate In c 830 John was sent on an embassy to the Abbasid caliph al Ma mun but this did little to prevent a period of fierce warfare between the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasids He did however bring back a plan of the Abbasid palace in Baghdad for his emperor s amusement and oversaw the construction of a similar structure in Bithynia The circumstances of John VII s patriarchate are unclear Appointed patriarch in 837 3 by his disciple Theophilos he may have been responsible for a slight increase in the persecution of the iconodules He was deposed in 843 by Theophilos widow Theodora his own relative as a prelude to the end of iconoclasm The deposed patriarch survived until the 860s Citations edit John VII Grammatikos Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium Editor in chief Alexander Kazhdan Oxford University Press 1991 Vol 2 P 1052 Threadgold Warren Photius Before His Patriarchate Journal of Ecclesiastical History 53 1 17 2002 Timothy E Gregory A History of Byzantium Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010 227 References editThe Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium Oxford University Press 1991 J B Bury A History of the Eastern Roman Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil I A D 802 867 London 1912 Smith Jason Domonick John Grammatikos An Oblique History of a Damned Patriarch Thesis California State University Sacramento 2010 http csus dspace calstate edu handle 10211 9 503Titles of Chalcedonian ChristianityPreceded byAntony I Patriarch of Constantinople837 843 Succeeded byMethodios I Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John VII of Constantinople amp oldid 1183863091, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
