Hierarch7th century

Saint George I Patriarch of Constantinople

Also known as George I of Constantinople

Patriarch of Constantinople from 678 to 683.

August 18New Calendar

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August 31Old Calendar

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints George I, Patriarch of Constantinople

Life

Saint George I served as Patriarch of Constantinople in the later seventh century, holding the see during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV, known as Pogonatos (668-685). The Orthodox Church in America's synaxarion records his patriarchate as running from 678 to 683, while the standard list of patriarchs maintained by the Ecumenical Patriarchate dates his tenure to roughly 679 to 686; the sources agree that he occupied the throne during the years that the Monothelite controversy reached its conclusion.

George is chiefly remembered because his patriarchate coincided with the Sixth Ecumenical Council, the Third Council of Constantinople, which met to settle the Christological dispute over the wills of Christ. His feast is kept on August 18, on which day he is commemorated together with Saint John V, another patriarch of Constantinople.

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TroparionTone 4

In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith,
an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence;
your humility exalted you;
your poverty enriched you.
Hierarch Father George,
entreat Christ our God
that our souls may be saved.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline3 momentsReadHide

before his patriarchateService at Hagia SophiaBefore his elevation to the patriarchal throne, George served as Skeuophylax, the keeper of the sacred vessels of the Great Church of Hagia Sophia, and as Chancellor of the Patriarchate.
678/679Elevation to the patriarchateGeorge became Patriarch of Constantinople during the reign of Constantine IV. The OCA synaxarion places the start of his tenure in 678; the Ecumenical Patriarchate's list of patriarchs places it around November 679.
680-681The Sixth Ecumenical CouncilSummoned by Emperor Constantine IV, George presided over the Third Council of Constantinople, which assembled in the hall of the imperial palace on 7 November 680 and concluded on 16 September 681. The council condemned Monothelitism and Monoenergism and confirmed that Christ possesses two wills and two energies, divine and human.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Sixth Ecumenical Council

The defining event of George's patriarchate was the Third Council of Constantinople, reckoned by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches as the Sixth Ecumenical Council. Emperor Constantine IV summoned the patriarch and the bishops of his jurisdiction to a council to resolve the long-running dispute over whether Christ possessed one will or two. George took part in person and is recorded as president of the council, alongside the participation of the Patriarch of Antioch.

The council opened on 7 November 680 in the imperial palace, the emperor presiding over its early sessions, and closed at its eighteenth session on 16 September 681, by which point its membership had grown to roughly 151 bishops. It condemned Monothelitism and Monoenergism as heretical and defined that in Christ there are two natural wills and two natural energies, the human will being in harmony with and subject to the divine will.

Tenure and succession

George held the see during the reign of Constantine IV Pogonatos. According to the standard episcopal list he died at Constantinople in early 686. He was succeeded by Theodore I, who had held the throne before George and who returned to it for about a year, and was in turn followed by Paul III. Beyond his offices and his role at the council, the surviving sources preserve little biographical detail, and the brief synaxarion notices on him do not record his birth or the circumstances of his repose.

Companions1 figureShowHide

Whose two tenures on the patriarchal throne his own reign divided.

Saint TheodoreArchbishop of Constantinople

Related Saints1 saintShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Co-commemorated — fellow seventh-century patriarch of Constantinople, honored together with George on August 18.

Saint John VPatriarch of Constantinople

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints