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being deposed. Therefore they send to him noteworthy men of the emperor's guard, to bring him down from the patriarchate; whom he would not yield to for the descent. And they, though wishing to bring him down, nevertheless do not persuade him, having been wickedly persuaded by him to leave him for the time being; for which reason they report this to those who sent them, and they kindled a greater impulse against him. Therefore the patrician Bardas went in to him, to inquire for what reason he would not depart from the patriarchate; and he contrived his defense, showing him his own belly pricked with skewers, adding that from those sent out as pagans he had suffered such a punishment without cause, on account of which being in a very bad state, if it were possible, he might be excused from coming down for the present; and he had suffered this especially from Constantine of the Armenians, who was distinguished in the regiment of the Excubitors. This one, he says, O listeners, the abominable and all-profane one, who was a descendant of Armenians, sent from chiefs and their brothers to emperor Theophilos as a hostage for a truce, who not long after, on account of the seemliness of his soul and body and his other philokalic disposition for the best things, was appointed drungarius of the arithmos, that is of the imperial watch, and from there is honored as patrician and logothete of the drome. So when the piece of theatre was exposed as being of malicious intent, it provoked to greater anger the sensible examiner, through whom he was also justly deposed from ecclesiastical authority, bestowing, even if unwillingly, an indelible praise upon the one accused. And the pious patriarch Methodios is brought in in his place, bearing on himself many marks for piety and the baldness from his hair being torn out in a decaying prison as a kind of prize. To him they delivered the archepiscopal anchors with the full acceptance of all God-bearing men, both those circulating in the capital and those who had come to it from all parts. For on the appointed day of their assembly, on which the church of God clothed itself in its own comeliness, they came down from the renowned mountains of Olympus, Athos, and Ida, and indeed also from the contingent of Kyminas, openly proclaiming Orthodoxy, and being satisfied with imperial exchanges and venerable and auspicious signs they withdrew to their own tents; from which time until now the harbors of Orthodoxy, guarded by the power of Christ, remain stormless. 4.4 These were, in the first place, the achievements of Michael and Theodora, the pious emperors. But John, having been imprisoned in a certain monastery and having seen in a part of the church there a carnal image of our savior Christ our God, and indeed also of the Mother of God and of the archangels, ordered his servant passing by to gouge out the eyes of the venerable icons, saying that he was unable to extend his sense of sight towards them, the thrice-cursed one having been an icon-painter from his youth and former head of the monastery of the athletes Sergius and Bacchus which was set apart for the emperors. When therefore the most God-revering empress Theodora learned these things, she was moved with fervent zeal out of love for Christ and was eager to tear out his hateful eyes, though she was prevented by the entreaties of some; whence, sending some of the guards to him, she had him flogged with two hundred lashes. 4.5 The heretics therefore, rashly quarreling with those who had been brought forward, having deceived a girl with sufficient money to accuse the patriarch publicly before the church, along with the son born from her, Metrophanes, who at certain times was prelate of the city of the Smyrnaeans, celebrate a charge of secret marriage. From this a great disturbance was stirred up by the heterodox, who reproached us and mocked us immoderately. For which reason, Manuel, holding the first rank among the magistroi, and Theoktistos, the patrician and *epi tou kanikleiou* and logothete of the drome, came to the patriarchate, along with other senators,

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καθαιρουμένου. τοιγαροῦν ἀποστέλλουσι πρὸς αὐτὸν ἄνδρας ἀξιολόγους τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς φυλακῆς βασιλέως, τοῦ πατριαρχείου καταγαγεῖν· οἷς οὐκ ἐνεδίδου πρὸς κάθοδον. οἱ δὲ καὶ βουλόμενοι τοῦτον καταβιβάσαι ὅμως οὐ πείθουσι, παρ' αὐτοῦ κακοτρόπως μεταπεισθέντες τοῦτον τέως ἐᾶσαι· διὸ περί γε τούτου τοῖς ἀποστείλασιν ἀπαγγέλλουσι, καὶ κατ' αὐτοῦ πλείονα τὴν ὁρμὴν διεξάπτουσιν. εἰσῄει οὖν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ πατρίκιος Βάρδας, πευσόμενος, ὅτου χάριν τοῦ πατριαρχείου οὐκ ἀπανίσταται· καὶ τὴν ἀπολογίαν ἐμεθοδεύκει, δεικνὺς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γαστέρα δι' ὀβελίσκων κατάστικτον αὐτῷ, ἐπειπών, ὅτι παρὰ τῶν ἐκπεμφθέντων ὡς ἐθνικῶν ἐπεπόνθει τοιαύτην ἀναιτίως ποινήν, δι' ἧς χαλεπῶς ἄγαν ἔχων, εἰ οἷόν τε, τὸ παρὸν συγχωρηθείην τῆς καταβάσεως· ἐπεπόνθειν δὲ μάλιστα παρὰ Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ ἐξ Ἀρμενίων καὶ τῷ τῶν ἐξκουβίτων ἐμπρέποντος τάγματι. τοῦτον δέ φησιν, ὦ ἀκροαταί, ὁ βδελυκτὸς καὶ παμβέβηλος, τὸν κεχρηματικότα ἀπόγονον Ἀρμενίων, ἐξ ἀρχηγῶν καὶ συναυταδέλφων σταλέντα πρὸς βασιλέα Θεόφιλον ἐπικηρυκεύσεως ὅμηρον, ὃς οὐ μετὰ μακρὸν χρόνον διά τε τὴν αὐτοῦ ψυχῆς τε καὶ σώματος εὐκοσμίαν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην περὶ τὰ βέλτιστα φιλόκαλον πρόθεσιν δρουγγάριος τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ ἤτοι τῆς βασιλικῆς βίγλης καθίσταται, ἐντεῦθεν πατρίκιός τε καὶ λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου γεραίρεται. τοῦ οὖν δραματουργήματος κατὰ κακόφρονα γνώμην ἀπελεγχθέντος, εἰς θυμὸν μᾶλλον ἐξῆγεν τὸν ἐταστὴν ἔμφρονα, δι' οὗ καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς ἐπικρατείας ἐνδίκως ἐκπέπτωκεν, τῷ κατηγορηθέντι μᾶλλον, κἂν μὴ ἐθέλων, δωρησάμενος ἀπαρέγγραπτον ἔπαινον. καὶ εὐσεβὴς ἀντεισάγεται πατριάρχης Μεθόδιος, ἐν ἑαυτῷ πλεῖστα τὰ ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας στίγματα καὶ τὴν δι' εἱρκτῆς σαπρώσης τῶν τριχῶν ψίλωσιν οἷά τινα γέρα προκομιζόμενος. τούτῳ τὰς ἀρχιερατικὰς ἀγκύρας ἐπέδοσαν σὺν ἀποδοχῇ πάσῃ θεοφόρων ἁπάντων ἀνδρῶν, τῶν τε τῇ βασιλίδι περινοστούντων καὶ τῶν πανταχόθεν πρὸς ταύτην ἐληλυθότων. καὶ γὰρ κατὰ διωρισμένην ἡμέραν τῆς αὐτῶν συνελεύσεως, καθ' ἣν ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησία τὴν ἑαυτῆς εὐπρέπειαν ἀμφεβάλλετο, κατίασιν ἐκ τοῦ περιωνύμου ὄρους Ὀλύμπου Ἄθω τε καὶ τῆς Ἴδης, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τοῦ κατὰ Κυμινᾶν συμπληρώματος, περιφανῶς τὴν ὀρθοδοξίαν κηρύσσοντες, βασιλικαῖς τε διαμοιβαῖς καὶ σεβασμίοις αἰσίοις ἱκανωθέντες πρὸς τὰς ἰδίας σκηνὰς ὑπεχώρησαν· ὧν ἔκτοτε καὶ μέχρι τῆς δεῦρο οἱ τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας λιμένες Χριστοῦ δυνάμει φρουρούμενοι διατηροῦσιν ἀχείμονες. 4.4 Ταῦτα μὲν ἐν πρώτοις Μιχαήλ τε καὶ Θεοδώρας, τῶν εὐσεβῶν βασιλέων, τὰ κατορθώματα. ὁ δὲ Ἰαννῆς τινι μοναστηρίῳ ἐγκαθειρχθεὶς καὶ ἐν μέρει τοῦ κατ' ἐκεῖνο ναοῦ κατιδὼν τοῦ σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν σαρκικὸν χαρακτῆρα, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς θεομήτορος καὶ τῶν στρατιαρχῶν, διωρίσατο τῷ ἑαυτοῦ ὑπηρέτῃ διανιόντι τῶν σεβασμίων εἰκόνων ἀνορύξαι τὰ ὄμματα, φάσκων ἀμηχανεῖν πρὸς ταῦτα τὴν ὁρατικὴν προτείνασθαι αἴσθησιν, εἰκονιστὴς ἐκ νεότητος ὁ τρισκατάρατος καθεστὼς καὶ μονῆς τῶν ἀθλοφόρων Σεργίου καὶ Βάκχου τῆς βασιλεῦσιν ἀφωρισμένης προβάθμιος. ὡς οὖν ἐπύθετο ταῦτα ἡ θεοσεβεστάτη δέσποινα Θεοδώρα, ζήλῳ τῆς πρὸς Χριστὸν ἀγαπήσεως διακαῶς ἐκεκίνητο καὶ τοὺς αὐτοῦ μισητοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκμοχλεύειν προτεθύμητο, κἂν δεήσεσι παρά τινων ἐκεκώλυτο· ὅθεν τινὰς τῶν δορυφόρων ἐκπέμψασα πρὸς αὐτὸν ςʹ λώροις ἐμάστιξεν. 4.5 Οἱ οὖν αἱρετικοὶ τοῖς προσαχθεῖσι προπετῶς διαπληκτιζόμενοι, χρήμασιν ἱκανοῖς φρεναπατήσαντες κόρην πρὸς τὰ δημόσια ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας κατηγορῆσαι τοῦ πατριάρχου, σὺν τῷ ἐξ αὐτῆς τεχθέντι υἱῷ Μητροφάνει, τῷ κατὰ καιρούς τινας προέδρῳ τῶν Σμυρναίων πόλεως χρηματίσαντι, κρυψιγαμίας ἔγκλημα θριαμβεύουσιν. ἐντεῦθεν πλεῖστος παρὰ τῶν κακοδόξων ἐπισυνίσταται τάραχος ἐπισχετλιαζόντων ἡμῖν καὶ ἀμέτρως ἐπεγγελώντων. οὗ χάριν τῷ πατριαρχείῳ προσίασιν ὁ πρῶτα φέρων Μανουὴλ ἐν μαγίστροις, καὶ ὁ πατρίκιος καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ κανικλείου καὶ λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου Θεόκτιστος, σὺν ἑτέροις συγκλητικοῖς,