Saint Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople (†471) — August 31 / September 13 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, August 31 according to the Julian Calendar (September 13 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Saint Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople, ascended the throne of the Church of Constantinople in the year 458, during the reign of the holy and right-believing Emperor Leo the Great (457–474). Accounts of his life are found in the book “The Spiritual Meadow,” which includes the narratives of the venerable fathers Sophronius and John, monks of the monastery of Salama near Alexandria. These monks had been clergy of the Church of Constantinople in the time of Patriarch Gennadius. The hierarch Gennadius was distinguished by humility, patience, purity, and self-restraint.

To put an end to the unlawful practices and false teachings that had arisen in the Church, Saint Gennadius convened a local council, at which the heresy of Eutyches was condemned and simony (ordination in exchange for payment) was forbidden. The hierarch took care that those who wished to receive holy orders should be deeply versed in Holy Scripture.

During the patriarchate of the blessed Gennadius, a church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was built in Constantinople. In those same years the senator Studius, who had come from Rome, founded the monastery known as the Studion. The steward of the Church during the patriarchate of Saint Gennadius was the Venerable Marcian (commemorated January 10). The hierarch ordained the Venerable Daniel the Stylite (commemorated December 11) to the priesthood. The blessed father governed the Church of Constantinople for thirteen years and reposed in peace in the year 471.