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Hieromartyr9th century

Hieromartyr Euthymius Bishop of Sardis

c. 751/754 - 831

Also known as Euthymius of Sardis

Bishop of Sardis who attended the Seventh Ecumenical Council and suffered under later iconoclast rulers, dying from persecution after defending the icons.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Euthymius, Bishop of Sardis, the Confessor

Life

Euthymius of Sardis was a Byzantine bishop and a leading defender of the veneration of icons during the iconoclast controversies of the late eighth and early ninth centuries. Born about 751 or 754, by tradition in Asia Minor, he was ordained metropolitan of Sardis by Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople and held the see during the period when the Orthodox restoration of icons was first achieved and then repeatedly overturned.

He is remembered above all for his role at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, the Seventh Ecumenical Council, where he was among those who condemned Iconoclasm, and for the persecutions, exiles, and finally the violent death he endured under successive emperors who restored the iconoclast policy. The Orthodox Church commemorates him as both hieromartyr and confessor.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 4

By sharing in the ways of the Apostles,
you became a successor to their throne.
Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God;
by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith,
even to the shedding of your blood.
Hieromartyr Euthymius, entreat Christ God to save our souls.

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

Timeline6 momentsReadHide
  1. c. 751/754BirthBorn, according to modern accounts, at Ouzara, probably in Lycaonia in central Asia Minor.
  2. c. 784-787Ordained Bishop of SardisOrdained metropolitan bishop of Sardis by Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople.
  3. 787Seventh Ecumenical CouncilTook part in the Second Council of Nicaea, playing a leading role in the council's condemnation of Iconoclasm and the restoration of icon veneration.
  4. c. 804First exileDeposed and banished under Emperor Nikephoros I, exiled together with other Orthodox hierarchs.
  5. 813-829Renewed persecutionWhen Iconoclasm was reimposed under Leo V the Armenian and Michael II the Amorian, Euthymius again defended icons and was arrested, whipped, and exiled.
  6. 26 December 831MartyrdomDied from the effects of severe torture under Emperor Theophilos, after being beaten with ox thongs.

Contributions & Legacy

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Episcopate and the Seventh Ecumenical Council

Euthymius was ordained metropolitan bishop of Sardis, a major see in western Asia Minor, by Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople in the period between about 784 and 787. His elevation fell during the brief peace in which the empress Irene and Tarasios worked to reverse the first phase of Byzantine Iconoclasm.

In 787 he attended the Second Council of Nicaea, recognized as the Seventh Ecumenical Council, which formally condemned Iconoclasm and affirmed the veneration of holy images. According to the accounts that survive, Euthymius played a leading part in the council's proceedings and advocated for the restoration of traditional icon veneration and the reinstatement of bishops who had been exiled under the iconoclast emperors.

Persecution and exile

Under Emperor Nikephoros I (802-811), Euthymius was deposed and banished together with other Orthodox hierarchs; he and his companions endured a long exile. Modern accounts associate this exile with the island of Pantelleria, while the synaxarion names the place of his banishment Patalareia.

When Iconoclasm was once more adopted as official policy under Leo V the Armenian (813-820) and Michael II the Amorian (820-829), Euthymius openly denounced the heresy and continued to defend the veneration of icons. For this he was arrested, whipped, and sent again into exile. The synaxarion records that Michael II tried without success to compel him to renounce the icons.

Martyrdom

Under Emperor Theophilos (829-842), the last of the iconoclast rulers, Euthymius was subjected to severe torture. The synaxarion relates that he was stretched on four poles and beaten with ox thongs, and that he died several days afterward from the effects of this treatment. Modern scholarship places his death on 26 December 831 in island exile.

Because he both confessed the faith throughout repeated persecutions and finally died from the violence inflicted on him, the Church honors him as a hieromartyr and confessor.

Companions1 figureShowHide
Fellow confessor, who stood with him against the iconoclasm of Leo the Armenian.
Emilian the ConfessorBishop of Cyzicus
Related Saints3 saintsShowHide

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

Ordained Euthymius metropolitan of Sardis and presided with him over the restoration of icon veneration at the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
Saint TarasiusPatriarch of Constantinople
A fellow ninth-century bishop and confessor for the icons, exiled in the same second iconoclasm.
Eustathius the ConfessorBishop of Kios
A fellow iconodule bishop who suffered exile under the iconoclast emperors.
Theophylactusof Nicomedia

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