METHODIUS I, SAINT

born 788/800, Syracuse, Sicily died June 14, 847, Constantinople [now Istanbul]; feast day June 14 patriarch of Constantinople from 843 to 847. As a monk, Methodius embraced the position of the Iconodules, who supported the veneration of images, as opposed to the Iconoclasts, who denounced the veneration of images. The Iconoclastic movement arose in the 8th century as a reaction against pagan tendencies in Christianity. During the reign of the iconoclast emperor Theophilus (829842), Methodius was respected as a learned man and was allowed to live in the palace in Constantinople despite his Iconodule beliefs. He found an ally in the wife of Theophilus, Theodora, who venerated icons and kept them in her room. After the death of Theophilus, Theodora became regent for their son Michael III. In 843 she named Methodius patriarch and with his help restored the legitimacy of venerating icons to the Byzantine Empire.