PAUL OF CONSTANTINOPLE

On November 19 (6), the Church honors the memory of St. Paul of Constantinople (300–350). The saint was the second bishop of Constantinople in history after the founding of the city in 330. A contemporary and friend of Athanasius of Alexandria (295-373), he did a lot to overcome the Arian heresy and for the triumph of Nicene Orthodoxy. Paul ended his life as a martyr. Biographical information about him is well preserved; his life was full of truly biblical drama.

Paul was born in Thessalonica. As a reader, he accompanied the first Bishop of Constantinople, Alexander (250–335), to the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325), and then accompanied him on his missionary journeys to restore the orthodox Nicene faith. Dying, Alexander proposed two candidates as his successor, Paul himself, whom many considered too young for such a rank, and Deacon Macedonius. The latter, in the opinion of those around him, had external education, was knowledgeable in civil affairs and was close to those in power. Paul was elected and ordained by the bishops who were then in the capital in the Church of St. Irene, that is, the Holy Peace - Christ the Savior.

Soon Macedonius, at a church council in Constantinople in the late autumn of 335, accused Paul of having been installed without the consent of the “imperial bishop” Eusebius of Nicomedia, a convinced Arian and close to the emperor, and Theodore of Heraclea, on whom the diocese of Constantinople then depended. Having forced Paul to sign the condemnation of Saint Athanasius, the Arians enlisted the support of Constantine the Great (+337) and sent him into his first exile. Shortly before this, Paul himself had ordained Macedonius into priesthood, but now he suffered from his betrayal. Eusebius himself took the seat of Constantinople.

After 15 months of exile, Paul returned to the see, but was soon expelled again by the decision of the local council of Arian bishops in the fall of 338. The heretics then took advantage of the support of Emperor Constantius II (337–361). The chair was again occupied by the informal head of the Arians, Eusebius. Although Constantinople was then a simple diocese subordinate to the neighboring metropolitan, the heretic was drawn to the new political center like a magnet.

Paradoxically, it was precisely the ecclesiastical lust for power that was often characteristic of real heretics.

Paul found refuge in Trier with the local bishop, Saint Maximin (+346), who was one of the most courageous men of his time and gave refuge to persecuted Orthodox bishops. Acquitted by local church councils, he returned to Constantinople after many months of wandering and the death of Eusebius. He was enthusiastically received by the church people and refused church communion to the Arian bishops. Soon, in 342, the Arians consecrated that same Macedonian bishop of Constantinople, and a civil confrontation began. From Antioch, Constantius ordered Paul to be expelled again, accusing him of inciting rebellion. The heretic Macedonius ascended his pulpit.

Paul was sent in chains to the fortress of Singara in northern Mesopotamia, near modern Mosul. Then it was an outpost of the Roman Empire in its confrontation with Persia. Transferred to Emesa, modern Syrian Homs, in the summer of 344 Paul returned to Constantinople, where he was immediately arrested.

By order of the emperor, he was taken secretly from the people to Thessalonica, with a ban on returning to the eastern part of the Empire. The diocese of Constantinople was again headed by Macedonius, which led to a popular confrontation with many dead. Despite the prohibition, Paul headed to Milan, where, together with Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, he enlisted the support of the Western emperor Constant (337–350), who favored the Nicean Orthodoxy. In 346, Paul was able to return to his flock for the fourth time.

This return, intended to be final in its biblical symbolism of three nights and three days in the tomb (cf. Matt. 12:40), turned out to be a farewell. In 350 Constans was overthrown and killed as a result of a conspiracy by the usurper Magnentius (350-353). Arian Constantius became the only emperor. Accused of corresponding with a rebel, Paul was sentenced to life imprisonment and deported towards Cappadocia, and then even further into the Taurus desert. Here he was thrown into prison to die of hunger. Found alive six days later, he was strangled with his own omophorion. Apparently, the persecutors were outraged that in prison he performed the liturgy, thereby violating the order of the emperor. In fulfillment of the words of the Gospel, he fed himself with the Body of the Lord (cf. John 6:54-56).

In 381, the Orthodox Emperor Theodosius the Great (379–395) transferred Paul’s body to Constantinople. At the same time, the Second Ecumenical Council condemned the supporters of Macedonius for the heresy of denying the deity of the Holy Spirit. The true theological position of Macedonius still remains unclear. It is possible that it was his malicious and treacherous attitude towards Paul that helped believers see him as a real heretic. Holiness, like happiness, is a momentary phenomenon. The forgotten saint, Paul of Constantinople, was one of the greatest sufferers in church history.