THEODOSIUS I BORADIOTES, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Reigned 1179 to 1183. Theodosius was apparently an Armenian born in Antioch; he came to the patriarchal throne between February and July 30, 1179. At the end of the reign of Manuel I, he was drawn into the theological dispute occasioned by the emperor's eagerness to reword the form of the abjuration taken by converted Moslems. Manuel, already ill, yielded to Theodosius's persuasion and agreed to modify his original wording. On Manuel's death (1180) Theodosius lived through the troubled minority of Alexius II and saw the rise to power of Andronicus I. The patriarch appears to have protested against the violation of the rights of sanctuary by the rival political factions. Finally Theodosius incurred the hostility of Andronicus, who desired ecclesiastical sanction for the marriage of his illegitimate daughter Irene to Alexius, illegitimate son of Manuel I, despite decrees prohibiting such a union. Theodosius refused to accommodate the emperor and evidently had to abdicate, going to the monastery of Terebinthes. This occurred shortly before Sept. 3, 1183, when Andronicus became co-emperor; for in August, while Andronicus was still co-regent, Theodosius had agreed to the expulsion of the dowager empress Mary from the imperial palace.

Bibliography: v. grumel, Les Regestes des actes du patriarchat de Constantinople (Kadikoi-Bucharest 1932–47) v.l.3. v. grumel, Études byzantines 1 259–260. m. i. gedeon, Πατριαρχικοί πίνακες (Constantinople 1890).

[j. m. hussey]