PHOTIUS (c. 82o-891), patriarch of Constantinople (858 867 and 878-886). The way to public life was probably opened for him by the marriage of his brother Sergius to the princess Irene, sister of Theodora, who, upon the death of her husband Theophilus in 842, had assumed the regency of the empire. Photius became captain of the guard and subsequently first imperial secretary. The dissensions between the patriarch Igna• tius and Bardas, the uncle of the youthful Emperor Michael III., brought promotion to Photius. Ignatius was arrested and im prisoned (Nov. 858), and upon refusing to resign his office was illegally deposed, while Photius, although a layman, received all the necessary sacerdotal orders within six days, and was installed as patriarch in his place. Ignatius, continuing to refuse the ab dication which could alone have given Photius's elevation a sem blance of legality, was treated with extreme severity. His cause was subsequently espoused by Pope Nicholas in a manner highly offensive to the independent feeling of the Eastern Church. Photius felt himself the champion of Eastern Christianity against Latin pretensions ; and when in 863 Nicholas finally anathematized and deposed him, he replied by a counter-excommunication. Meanwhile, the situation was suddenly changed by the murder of Photius's patron, Bardas, by order of the emperor Michael, who was himself assassinated by his colleague Basil in the follow ing year (867). The fall of Photius immediately ensued; he was removed from his office and banished about the end of September 867, a few days after the accession of Basil, and Ignatius was reinstated on Nov. 23.
About 876 Photius was suddenly recalled to Constantinople and entrusted with the education of Basil's children. On the death of Ignatius, probably in October 878, Photius again became patriarch. In 879 the legates of Pope John VIII. attended a synod convened at Constantinople, prepared to acknowledge Photius as iegitimate patriarch, a concession for which John was much censured by Latin opinion. But John stood firm on out standing points of difference, disowned his legates, and again ex communicated Photius. Photius ignored John's action, but a
palace revolution caused his banishment (886) to Bordi in Armenia. He is said to have died there on Feb. 6, 891.
Photius shows to no little advantage as an ecclesiastical states man. His firmness was heroic, his sagacity profound and far seeing; he supported good and evil fortune with equal dignity; and his fall was on both occasions due to revolutions beyond his control. In erudition, literary power, and force and versatility of intellect he far surpassed every contemporary.
The most important of the works of Photius is his renowned Bibliotheca or Myriobiblon (ed. I. Bekker, 1824-1825), a collec tion of extracts from and abridgments of 28o volumes of classical authors (usually cited as Codices), the originals of which are now to a great extent lost. To Photius we are indebted for almost all we possess of Ctesias, Memnon, Conon, the lost books of Diodorus Siculus, and the lost writings of Arrian.
The Lexicon (Akewv Ltwayo.)711), was probably in the main the work of some of his pupils. The only ms. of the Lexicon is the Codex Galeanus, at Trinity College, Cambridge (ed. S. A. Naber, 1864, with introduction on the authorities, critical commentary and valuable indexes). The Amphilochia is a collection of some 30o questions and answers on diffi cult points in Scripture, addressed to Amphilochius, archbishop of Cyzicus (ed. Sophocles Oeconomus, Athens, 1858). Other similar works are his treatise in four books against the Manichaeans and Paulicians, and his controversy with the Latins on the Procession of the Holy Spirit. His Epistles were edited by J. Valettas, London (1864) . A large number of his speeches and homilies have been edited by S. Aristarches (1900). The only complete edition is Bishop Malou's in Migne's Patro login graeca, ci.—cv. R. Reifzenstein (Der Anfang des Lexikons des Photius, 1907) has published a hitherto unedited ms. containing numerous fragments from various verse and prose authors.
See Cardinal Hergenrother, Photius, Patriarch von Constantinopel (1867-69).