Pamphlet of the Arethas of Caesarea Against Nicholas Mysticus and Emperor Alexander I
Abstract
Using the demise of ex-Patriarch Euthymios (date of death – August 5, 917) as a pretext, Arethas of Caesarea attacks with vicious blame both deceased Emperor Alexander I and prospering and ruling Patriarch Nicholas Mysticus. The article proposes to date the Funerary oration on Euthymios (BHG 652) to August 917, since it was apparently pronounced on occasion of his death and funeral, not on the relics transfer, as it was supposed before. The author analyzes the famous comparison of Euthymios with John Chrysostom, Nikephoros I of Constantinople, and with Photios. Actually, it was Emperor Leo VI who removed Photios and sent him to exile (or relegated to a monastery). This fact classes Euthymios with Arcadius and Eudoxia, and most importantly with image breaker Leo V. This circumstance casts serious doubts on Arethas’ motivations. The reason for the positive attitude towards Leo could be, apart from the opposition to Alexander, the fact that at the time of the work’s composition Zoe Carbonopsina was the actual regent, who ruled in the name of Leo VI’s minor son Constantine VII. The publication contains a Russian translation of the work, the first version in any modern European language ever.
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