A Procopia, with great glory, and having stood before the altar, and having seen the coronation of her son, and having caused great joy, and having distributed much money—for she was the one administering all the affairs of the empire, as her husband was gentle, as has been said—also performed many acts of alms, scattering the money which Nicephorus had gathered with great care, sending what was necessary to the churches, to the monasteries, to the ascetics in the deserts, to the poor-houses, to the hospices for the poor and strangers, to the captives, the widows, the orphans, and to those who had been deprived of their wealth; and by making everyone joyful, they were glorified by all. And the factions of the people composed poems in every tone in their honor, offering every pleasure of adulation. B And thereafter he recalled all those towards whom Nicephorus had been ill-disposed and whom he had cast out of the palace: the brothers of Theodote, who were patricians; and Leo, surnamed Sclerus, whom he appointed as commander of the Peloponnesus; and Leo, son of Bardas the Armenian, who had been guilty of treason, and who, having been beaten, shorn, and exiled by Nicephorus, they recalled, and made him a patrician and commander of the Anatolics—who, being a wicked man, later tyrannized them, as we shall tell later.
Now, these events having taken place, the Bulgarians, having become prideful because of their victory over Nicephorus, wished to go to war. Michael, having learned of this and having taken counsel, gathered all the themes, having recruited many others in place of those who had been destroyed in the war, and having brought together those who guarded the passes of Syria—Lycaonians, Cilicians, Isaurians, Cappadocians, Galatians—and taking everyone with him, he set out in the second year of his reign, in the sixth indiction. C The city followed him, and Procopia Augusta, his wife, went out as far as the aqueduct, performing the *maiumas*, and giving gifts to the commanders of the army; Procopia besought them to guard the emperor Michael diligently, to protect him in the war, and to fight on behalf of the Christians; and from there she returned to the city.
Thence the emperor and all the people set out and approached the border and the fortresses of the passes. The Bulgarians stood drawn up opposite them, and seeing the multitude of the army, they did not dare to attack them, but stood in battle array. D Likewise, the army of the emperor also stood in formation for fifteen days, not daring to lay hands upon one another. Finally, exhausted by their hardships, exposed to the immoderate heat of the summer day and night, both the men and the beasts of burden were reduced to the point of extreme ruin, with the Romans about to make an assault upon the Bulgarians, and the Bulgarians in turn about to break in upon the Romans.
A And it was possible to see them in great helplessness. And so, Aplaces, who was upon one side of the wing having with him the Macedonians and the Thracesians, made it known to the emperor: "How long shall we stand here and perish? I for my part will be the first to join battle in the name of the Lord, and do you then follow with zeal; and we shall surely win, for we are more than ten times their number"—as indeed was the case. And having begun the battle, the Bulgarians poured over onto him, and the Thracesians began to cut them down. And then, as the fighting began, the rest of the troops did not come to their assistance, but being struck with fear, they turned to flee; first of all the theme of the Orientals. And being left alone, the men of Aplaces, not being able to withstand them, began to be cut down themselves.
And then, seeing that all the themes were fleeing, having almost abandoned even the emperor—they who had previously boasted that they were fighting on behalf of the emperor and the Christians. For they were saying that "having entered into Bulgaria, in difficult terrain, the enemy gained the upper hand over us, but out on the plain we have the power to defeat them"—and all of these were falsehoods. For not even having begun to fight, they fled. And then Aplaces himself was wounded in that very battle, and many of his men. The rest, seeing that they had no help from anywhere, also fled. B Now the place in which they joined battle was a hollow, and the themes were positioned on the higher ground, and when they turned and fled, they thought that the others had not fled, but had only pulled back in order to rout the enemy, and therefore they did not immediately pursue them. But a little later, looking up, they saw that they had disappeared in a headlong flight. And having loosened the bridles of their horses, they pursued them apace. And they, in their flight, trampled one another, and each one who fled in front did not notice the one behind. For hearing the clatter of the horses' hooves, he would say that he was being pursued by the enemy, and until his horse fell and died, hardly any one of them restrained himself from the flight. C And furthermore, most of them fled on foot, as their horses were exhausted from the long standing in the battle line. And being throttled by hunger and scorched by thirst, having traveled but a little way, they fell to the ground and died. For there was no one who did not throw away his weapons and armor along the road. Others reached certain fortresses; but afterwards, the Bulgarian laid siege, and having taken all the fortresses, they were all taken captive. D The enemy then eagerly collected the arms of those who were fleeing; but as for our men, until they reached the city...
A they did not stop fleeing. And reaching the city, the emperor entered it and barred the gates, lest the dispersed army should do any harm. But the Bulgarians, having pursued them for a short distance, then proceeded with ease. For they themselves were also exhausted from the battle, as were their horses; they collected the arms, as has been said, and besieged the forts where the fugitives had taken refuge. Finally, the emperor, entering the city with sorrow and weeping, approached the patriarch. The magister, the great domestic, and the rest of the patricians accompanied him. B The emperor, lamenting, said: "It is entirely because of my sins that the Christians have suffered this; God holds the empire of my father-in-law in hatred and turns away from his offspring; for although we were more numerous than the enemy, no one had any courage, but all fled." While the patriarch and the others were comforting him and consulting on what they should do, awaiting the gathering of all the legions so that the emperor might issue an order, the legion of the Orientals—who were the first to flee from the battle—began to riot, led by the commander who was the son of Bardas the Armenian; having conspired, they acclaimed this same Leo as emperor, and, with no one resisting, they opened the gates and brought him into the city in a great crowd. Hearing this, the Emperor Michael took refuge in the church and, having received protections, had his hair shorn, becoming a monk.
Of the Empire of Leo, Son of Bardas the Armenian
Leo, therefore, entered the palace and, having taken all [the insignia], after making a procession, went into the church and, ascending the ambo, was crowned by Nicephorus, who was patriarch at that time, on the tenth day of the month of June, in the seventh indiction, having previously presented a written document C signed by himself and his companions, that he would never innovate against the Church, nor would he tolerate that anything defined long ago by the holy Fathers concerning sacred dogmas should be changed; a promise he in no way kept. Being a liar, and as it is commonly said that the chameleon takes on various colors, so he too was always varying in his speech, sometimes appearing endowed with upright morals and good, and at other times tainted with the opposite; for which reason he was deservedly nicknamed "Chameleon" by a holy man. D Having thus cast out Michael, as has been said before, Leo tyrannically seized the empire, and after having Procopia Augusta, the wife of Michael, shorn, he had his sons also shorn and deprived of their manhood through the islands; and having carried off everything they possessed, he left them neither their own property nor what they had received from their parents, so that they were even lacking in necessities. They, however, gave thanks to God in all things. Michael was a man of perfect age, in the very flower of youth.
round-faced, wheat-colored, having a black head, and A a handsome appearance, and his beard was arranged becomingly to the appearance of his face, and it was also black. He was, moreover, very gentle and good, if anyone ever was. This man endured many afflictions inflicted upon him by the cruelty of the ungodly Leo, daily expecting death, and eating his bread with sorrow of heart; yet the Lord, against expectation, kept him unharmed, that he might not be injured by the wickedness of Leo.
And finally the Bulgarians came, with no one meeting them or preventing them, as far as the gate. And Crumus, having performed sacrifices according to his custom, B outside the Golden Gate, sacrificed men and many animals, and having wetted his feet at the seashore, and having washed himself, and sprinkled his people, and having been acclaimed by them, he passed through the midst of his concubines, having been hailed by them, and glorified; and all this while those on the walls were watching, and no one dared to prevent him or let fly a dart at him.
And having performed all his desires, and what he wished, he surrounded the city, and cast up a rampart against it, and having passed several days, and having ravaged the places outside the city, he began to demand much gold and a great number of garments, and a not inconsiderable quantity of chosen virgins. Therefore, Leo, having held council with the nobles, signified to Crumus, saying, "Come to the seashore with a few, not carrying arms, and we also will go forth by sea unarmed with a boat, and we shall converse; and whatever you have asked, we shall do all." And having signified these things, C by night they brought out some armed men, to the number of three, and hid them in some small houses of the Gallae outside the gate of the Blachernae, giving them a signal: "While we are conversing with Crumus, we shall give some signal, upon seeing which, rush forth and kill him."
On the next day, the Bulgarians being at the place of the Holy Anargyroi outside the city, Crumus went down to the sea according to the agreement, with three others: his logothete, and Constantine, called the son of the logothete, and Constantine called Patzicus, who had fled to Bulgaria many years before, D who also had his son, who was born from the sister of Crumus. These four, having gone out from their people unarmed, went down to the sea according to the agreement with the other three, not knowing of the ambush prepared for them. Finally, those from the city also went out with a boat, wishing to converse with Crumus, and having received promises, they disembarked from the boat. Crumus, descending from his horse, sat upon the ground; his horse, equipped with saddle and bridle, was held by the hand of the son of Constantine. While they were conversing with one another, someone from the city gave a signal; this was Exabules, who uncovered his head with his hand. [Having observed this...]
Krum was startled and jumped up; and having his horse ready, those with him raised him up, he mounted, and the people from the walls shouted, "The Cross has won." And he himself began to flee. Those who had been armed in the houses came out and pursued Krum, and shooting their arrows, they thought they had wounded him. He, however, fled quite alone to his own army. But the other three were captured by those who were in the boat. The Logothete was immediately slain, but Constantine and his son were kept alive.
When these things had happened, Krum in his anger ordered that the whole place be burned and destroyed the next day. And setting the fire, they burned down all the churches across from the city which were large, and which the empresses Irene and Nicephorus and Michael likewise had renovated, as well as the monasteries, the palaces, the houses, and the suburbs. B Advancing equally to Saint Mamas, they set fire to the palaces constructed there and to the two bedchambers, and they broke the columns and took the lead that was found, and they carried away with them the statues of living creatures placed in the Hippodrome, and gave all the captives to death, nor did they spare the beasts of burden and the animals themselves. From there, having traversed the port they call Stenos, along the shore and the higher tract, they burned the shipyards, and having taken much spoil with them, they departed.
Then, having occupied the right side of the city toward the east, they sent fire from the Golden Gate as far as Rhegion. Thence setting out for Athyra, they demolished the fort erected there; and they destroyed that famous bridge, although it was most sturdy. C Proceeding thereafter to Selybria, they razed the fort constructed there to the ground, and burned the churches and houses; and after this they destroyed the fort of Daonium. And coming to the city of Heraclea, being unable to enter it, they burned all the dwellings that were in the harbor and those around that same city. And after this, having come to Raidestos, they destroyed this fort as well, burning all the dwellings and churches in it, and slaughtering a great number of people there. And being unable to prevail against it, having burned and destroyed everything outside, they went up to Apron, which is also a fort; and having destroyed and burned this as well, and many other forts, they descended from there after ten days and entered the mountains of Ganos. D And having found there a great multitude of people hiding, and almost all the cattle of Thrace, they slaughtered the men and the beasts in great numbers, and led the rest away captive to Bulgaria along with a multitude of women and children. From there they crossed to Examilium and as far as Abydus; and having returned again to Eurium and the upper region, they destroyed all the cities from the smallest to the greatest as far as Adrianople. Finding Adrianople well-fortified, they besieged it; and being unable to take it by storm, after the days of the siege had been prolonged, they set up engines and assaulted the fort. The citizens, pressed by calamities, destitute of aid, and perishing from hunger, made a surrender to the enemy. The Bulgarians added the captives to a number of their own.
which was immense; having also carried off their baggage, they transported them into Bulgaria across the River Ister. B
While these things were taking place, Leo did not depart from the city, but held the empire tyrannically. When the festivals arrived, he crowned his son, still a small child, who was named Symbates, but falsely claiming that he was called Constantine. He gathered the surviving people from various cities and paid them a wage, ordering them to acclaim Leo and Constantine with faustian acclamations, imitating those who had previously reigned, Leo and Constantine the Isaurians, whose heresy he also renewed, wishing to live many years as they had, and to become famous; yet God confounded his plan by shortening the years of both himself and his son.
But when the air had become serene during the winter and the rivers did not contain much water, thirty thousand Bulgarians, clad in iron from head to foot, set out and came as far as Arcadiopolis. Having crossed the Regina (for that is the name of the river), they found a large population and made them captives. But before they could transport the captives, an immense rain fell for eight days, and the river, swelling, became like the sea. Hindered from crossing, the Bulgarians remained by the banks for fifteen days, keeping the captives under guard. Leo, having received a message from them to bring aid, paid no heed, nor did he depart from the city, nor did he send any others to help. When the weather later cleared and the river subsided, they compelled the captives themselves to fell timber and build a bridge; and thus they crossed with the captives, who altogether, counting men, women, and children, numbered fifty thousand. C They also took all their possessions—Armenian bedspreads, large embroidered carpets, clothing of every kind, and bronze implements—all of which they loaded onto wagons. Having also taken all their herds of cattle and sheep, they entered Bulgaria. The man who reigned unjustly by the permission of God neither departed from the city to assist the captives, nor permitted others to go.
After these events, a report was brought to him in these words: Krum is assembling a massive army, having gathered the Avars and forces from all the Sclavinias. Moreover, he is preparing various engines of war and machines, and massive siege-weapons—tribols and tetrabols, tortoises, high ladders, globes, levers, ropes, battering-rams, ballistae, fire-hurlers, stone-hurlers, and scorpions for throwing bolts—and slings, in a word, all kinds of machines for attacking the battlements and taking the city, aimed at the western D part of the city.
A He intended to bring up these engines to the point where he had been pelted with missiles, and he stabled many thousands of oxen to haul all the aforementioned gear, which had been placed upon wagons; he ordered five thousand iron-bound ones to be prepared. Upon hearing this, Leo sent out scouts, and having learned the truth, he gathered a great multitude of people and craftsmen and began to build another wall outside the wall of the Blachernae, having also cut through the wide paved road. And as he began to build it, though it was not yet finished, in order that God, who scatters the counsels of nations, brings to nothing the designs of peoples, and thwarts the counsels of princes, might show that it is not by engines and human strength that men can achieve anything, before the spring had even arrived—as some who were delivered from the Bulgarian captivity relate—around the Great Thursday of Easter, the prime of the Bulgarians, the famous Krum, he who had intended to take the city, found his life’s end, being invisibly slaughtered, and he poured forth torrents of blood from his mouth, his nostrils, and his ears. B And thus he breathed out his soul in his evils. Elated by this, Leo, as though he himself and not God had checked the war, sent missives to all the cities and regions, announcing: "I found the Bulgarians to be near the city, and by my own prudence, bravery, and maneuvering, I shot their leader with a bolt and put them all to flight. Our enemy is dying from this wound," he said. Thereafter, having seized the opportunity, he longed to ravage the Church.
In the second year of his reign, Leo, having curiously scrutinized the judgments of God, said to some who were of the same mind as himself: "On account of what," he said, "do the Christians fall lower than the pagans? It is because the icons are worshipped, and for no other reason; and for that cause, my mind is set to overthrow them. For see," he said, "as many emperors as accepted and worshipped them have perished—some banished, others fallen in war. Yet those alone who did not worship them departed this life, each with his empire still held, by a gentle death, and were carried with honor to the tombs of the emperors at the Apostles." C "So therefore, I also wish to imitate them and overthrow the icons, so that I may live for a long time, both I and my son, and our empire may stand until the fourth and fifth generation." In this the wretch was indeed deceived, having committed this wickedness in vain, so that he might disregard and trample upon his own oath, to which he had affixed his cross—and his companions with him. D From then on, if he could find anyone who would conspire with his desires, he began to seek them out; and he found a reader named John, the son of Pancratius the Sciast—a man of like mind, or rather folly, to his own—who from his boyhood had a demon dwelling in him, being agitated by irregular movements and in his mind—
A living in ignorance, whom they called Hylilas, which, as some say, being interpreted in Hebrew, is called the forerunner and helper of the devil. Leo, taking hold of this man and communicating to him his own design, took him as his co-worker, saying, "If you will join me in tearing down the icons, I will make you patriarch." And having requested from him the authority to search out the ancient books everywhere, which are stored in the monasteries and the churches, he was permitted, along with certain other disorderly and uneducated men. And having gathered a great multitude of books, they made their search within them, but the fools found nothing at all of what they were wickedly looking for, until there came into their hands the synod held under Constantine Psaltes and Caballinus B, and having taken their starting point from this, they began also to find in the books the testimonies, just as they foolishly and senselessly brought them forward, placing marks on the places where they found them, wishing to persuade the foolish populace that "in the ancient books we have found that the icons are not to be worshipped."
And then, as they were searching, and later seeking an ordination, they found a bishop, Constantine, the son of a certain cobbler presbyter, and Casymatas, who had learned grammar and was an old man skilled in the law at the dwellings of Phoracius, and who had taught children, and because of some crimes had fled into a monastery, and had attempted to act shamefully, and was named Antonius, and had become in turn the hegumen of the monastery called the Metropolitans'. He was, moreover, a teller of myths, C loving laughter and games, and suggesting to the monks under him who were still young to do these things. And simply to say it, having lived a shameful and indecorous life, I do not know how later, by the permission of God, he became a bishop at Sylaion. For while initially from his childhood he was orthodox, later on account of fleeting glory, and the having boldness to enter into the palace, and to speak freely with the rulers, he took hold of the heresy. When those with him—Ioannes, surnamed Hylilas, whom they called Grammaticos, and those with him—gave information about this man to Leo the emperor, being at that time in Sylaion, he sent and brought him. And having told him his purpose, not having spiritual fruit in himself, D and loving fleeting glory, having trampled upon his own conscience, and having denied the cross and the inscription which he had made, he turned to the opposite side. For when asked by Leo if it is written that the icons are to be worshipped, he did not answer him with the necessary words of truth, but said, "It is not."
Nowhere indeed is it written, but they assert that it is an ancient tradition. Leo further asks: "Unless it is written clearly and verbatim in the Gospels or the Apostle, 'Worship my image,' I will never consent to worship it." Having heard this, he joined himself with him and with the aforementioned disordered and uneducated men, and was established as their leader and chief. A
Thereafter, those who followed John, also called Hylilas, began to contend against the truth from Pentecost, gathering books; in the month of July, they added Anthony as an associate; and from then on, until the month of December, they kept their plot concealed. When questioned, they answered falsely, saying that the emperor had commanded them to examine the books, for some had predicted to them, "You will reign for a very short time, and for this reason we are conducting an examination." B Around the month of December, Leo the patriarch signifies: "The people are offended because of the images, saying: 'We worship them perversely, and for this reason the Gentiles dominate us.' Condescend," he says, "a little, and show moderation toward the people, and let us rescind what is rejected; if you do not agree, show and persuade us on what grounds, with Scripture nowhere explicitly asserting it, you worship images?" The patriarch answers: "Those things which from the beginning and in earlier times have been defined by the apostles and Fathers, we by no means innovate, nor do we think that anything should be moderated, for the Apostle says: 'If we, or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than that which we have announced to you, let him be anathema.' C But for the same reason that we worship the cross and the Gospel, we likewise venerate the images. For it is not written that even those are to be worshipped. But because the Church received these things from the apostles, it ought not to inquire whether it is written or not written; for the Church has received many things not by writing, which are called dogmas, ordained by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in successive times by his holy servants and ministers." Having heard these things, he retorted against him. "Approach," he says, "and dispute with those who agree with me (he was hinting at the associates of Anthony and John), who have securely found in ancient books authorities that deter us from worshipping images." After this, the patriarch sent bishops and chosen superiors of monasteries to answer his questions. D As they disputed and demonstrated the truth, Leo insisted, and insisted more vehemently, that they should dispute with the opposing side. They replied to him: "It is the decree of the holy synod that matters rightly declared and properly sanctioned ought not to be examined anew or investigated more curiously; nor should one reply to the authors of contention and those who seek quarrels, who persist with obstinacy." They say to him: "Arius, when he had spoken as one and alone, had a synod.
FRANC. COMBEFIS NOTE
(15) Much regarding this entire dispute, in the Life of St. Nicephorus, and of his exodus, and of the persecution brought upon the Church.
A But to those who were not persuaded, the emperor said: "Arius B spoke all by himself and caused a synod to be gathered on his behalf; and since all were scandalized concerning the faith, for what reason do you refuse to discuss and convince everyone that the icons are rightly venerated?" Having treated them with contempt and threatened them, he dismissed them, persisting in his hissing against the true faith and wishing to do whatever he pleased. Those who were dismissed were held fast by grief and depression, reporting all his wicked design to the patriarch. Thereupon all the orthodox, both clergy and monks and laity, gathered and held a night-long vigil, imploring God that He might scatter his design. When the patriarch had done this, the wretch, having learned of it, signified to the high priest: "Why have you done this?" He answered: "We have done nothing wrong; we have besought God that He might keep His Church undisturbed, if it is pleasing to Him." Upon hearing this, he became more infuriated against the truth. He also had certain impious men who conspired with him, through whom he secretly plotted his deceits. And he prepared through these impious soldiers to stone the image of Christ that was at the gate of the palace called Chalcis. C And then they began to throw stones and mud at the image, speaking words full of all foolishness and impiety, calling out Hades and the devil, and other things which it is not lawful to bring forth into the midst. And the tyrant said to the people: "Let us take down the image from there, so that the soldiers may not dishonor it"; in this he imitated Leo the Isaurian, as if wishing to live as many years in his reign as he. For it was written above the image: "What Leo the prince once took down, Irene here restored." For that Leo had taken it down, yet it had been an image there since the city was founded. Having done this, he gave freedom to the devil's collaborators—I mean Antony and John, and their associates—to perpetrate whatever they wished.
D When these things had taken place, all the bishops and the monks gathered at the patriarchate, and they were reading through all the excerpts of the Fathers, which the adversaries were interpreting maliciously and ignorantly. The patriarch, rendering their meaning and directing his speech to all, said: "Have you anything, brethren, that is expressed by these words?" All cried out: "We know and we are certain that our faith is true; in this we all die." The patriarch said to them: "It remains, brethren, that we should remain in one mind and joined in one soul in this confession, undivided, so that the men of the opposing party may not find anyone among us to separate, nor be able to carry it out. For we are more numerous than they by the grace of Christ." They, again, cried out, confirming that they would stand firm until death and fight for the Church, having made the sign of the cross and written to one another, not to separate. These things were done before the feasts. As the feasts drew near, the patriarch...
A signified to the emperor in words of admonition and at the same time beseeching him, that the Church—which the ancient Fathers had with much labor built up in the orthodox faith and left purged of every heresy—should not be exposed to depredations. He said: "If offenses against the sincere faith arise because of me, cast me out, and if you desire someone else, install him as patriarch; only keep the faith safe and sound." B To these words, that man who justly bore the name Chamaeleon [Chameleon] replied craftily and deceitfully, saying: "Who, pray, would dare to depose our father the patriarch, or to cast him out, or to disturb the state of the Church? We have investigated the matter a little, because of those who engage in superfluous talk; as for the rest, I believe as the Church believes." And drawing from his bosom a cross which had an image 18 upon it, he adored it before all. But he did this not as one telling the truth, but in hypocrisy, wishing to pass the feast. For no one could grasp his wily mind, as his mouth spoke one thing while his heart meditated another. Hearing these things, the patriarch and the bishops rejoiced, thinking he was speaking the truth. C Then, at the feast of Christ’s Nativity, proceeding with solemn pomp, he entered the church and stood before the altar according to the custom of the emperors, and he adored and kissed the insignia [the cloth] 18 on which the holy nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ was depicted. By such a spectacle, as everyone was ignorant of his deceit and craft, he was well satisfied. C Likewise, at the following feast of the Lights [Epiphany], he proceeded in the same manner, but upon entering he did not adore; and everyone then knew that the first time he had acted in hypocrisy and not in truth. And indeed, when the feasts were completed, he began to attack again, like Pharaoh against Israel, and set about stealing away some of the bishops with blandishments and promises of gifts. Those who yielded to him, loving the present age—even those who before had been resolute in affirming that they would die for the truth and had fixed up crosses as a pledge—almost all turned to the adverse side. D Because of this, the patriarch, by means of some of the bishops who had defected, signaled the following: "Come to an agreement with us with regard to a few things, and we shall cut off all that is baseless; if you will not, know that we will not permit you to remain on the throne." The patriarch, having spurned these men as perjurers and breakers of the cross-oath, declared to the emperor: "Do what you please; for I will never desert the dogmas piously defined by the Fathers, nor will I assent to those who hold the contrary." While these things were taking place, the patriarch fell into an infirmity, such that in a few days his salvation was despaired of by the physicians; the emperor, being informed of this, relaxed somewhat from the violence he had been inflicting; upon his death, everything [fell to] his will.
A But then, unexpectedly, by the hand of God, the worker of miracles, the patriarch was somewhat relieved. When Chameleon learned of this, he secretly arranged, through certain men, for the soldiers to enter the patriarchate and drag him out. It was the beginning of the Fast. A great multitude having gathered, just as the Jews did against Christ with swords and clubs, they filled the courtyards of the church, shouting and crying out in a disorderly manner; and then they began to execrate and anathematize those of holy memory, Germanus, Tarasius, and Nicephorus; hearing which, the patriarch thanked God with tears, that he was deemed worthy to hear these things for the sake of piety. And indeed the people rushed with one accord to enter the patriarchate. And a certain Thomas, a patrician and twice-consul, who had at that time taken charge of holding the church B under the order of the emperor, having locked the gates of the patriarchate, drove them away, as if they were doing these things without the emperor's knowledge. Immediately, the aforementioned man, having gone to Chameleon, reported to him the disorderly impetuosity of the people. But he, being always a liar, denied knowing anything or that anyone had been sent by him. "But," he said, "the people are compelled by necessity and distress, and that is why they did this." And Thomas says, "If you order, master, that he be expelled, there is no need for many [men]. Send two men, and others to carry him; for he cannot walk by himself on account of his illness—and thus he will depart." And this he did. C For at night, sending some men, he expelled him from the church; and those who were sent, carrying the patriarch away in a litter, stopped in the middle of the Milion forum, in order that some of the soldiers might kill him. But because it was late, and everyone was overcome with sleep, no one stirred. And having waited about an hour, and accomplishing nothing of what they intended, they took him from there and brought him down to the acropolis; and placing him in a boat, they cast him across to Chrysopolis. And in the morning, the son of perdition held an assembly and said to the people, "You know, brothers, that the patriarch, having abandoned the church, has departed; because we conferred with him regarding the icons, that they are wrongly worshipped, and that because of this the nations rule over us. D But he, not having any reasonable excuse to offer, became enraged, and having insulted us, departed. And therefore we are under a necessity to appoint another patriarch." And having lied in these things, he persuaded the people that he had resigned, and he was indeed desiring to make John, son of Pancratius, [patriarch], to which he had also agreed; but he was prevented by the patricians, who said, "He is young and of no reputation, and it is not fitting for us old men to venerate him and fall down before him; but rather let a patriarch be promoted from among those who are noble and of illustrious family and advanced in age." For this reason Theodotus, [kinsman] of the patrician Michael Melissenus...
who was brother-in-law to the emperor Constantine Caballinus through his third wife, was chosen. He commanded that this Theodotus—who was a *spatharocandidatus* and had subscribed to his dogma—be tonsured, and he had him consecrated patriarch. His ordination was celebrated at the feast of Easter; a man, I say, who possessed no spiritual knowledge, was not instructed in Scripture, unless perhaps in the most trivial way, and displayed no piety toward God: he was recommended only by his mildness and the fact that he appeared good to men. B Once he had assumed the patriarchal dignity, he began to host sumptuous banquets at midday and evening, loaded with meats, and he forced clergy and monks, and even bishops, who had abstained from eating meat since their youth, to break their continence and eat to gluttony. And where before there had shone great piety, honesty, continence, and virtue, there you would see laughter, games, wrestling, and foul language taking place, with not a shred of discipline remaining.
After Easter, therefore, the Chameleon convened a synod at the Great Church called Holy Wisdom, and having ordered Theodotus, whom he called Cassiteras, to sit as if he were patriarch, along with his son Symbatius, to whom he gave the name Constantine, and having brought in certain impious bishops for the assembly, he arranged for crosses to be set up against the truth and for oaths to be sworn. He himself, afraid to score a cross—because before, when he seized the throne, he had professed that he would not alter the orthodox faith, a vow which the wretch failed to keep—did not take the oath. In this manner, they read aloud before them that tome produced by the defenders of the pseudosynod (which they called the decree of the seventh synod at Blachernae), and these heirs of anathema struck our orthodox patriarchs with anathema. C They dragged metropolitan bishops and orthodox bishops along by force, D and having cast them into the midst of their brigand-synod, they trampled them underfoot (as if the ministers of impiety were performing a work of piety), and having stained them with their own blood, they delivered them to soldiers, who thrust them into custody and prisons. After keeping them there for some days, they brought them out again, and having examined them and found them not persuaded by their words, they informed the emperor, the author of this falsehood, and sent them into exile; and even in exile, he tortured them by sending executioners to inflict various punishments. Consequently, having seized the power of impiety, he carried out every form of wicked theatrics. He tore down and burned the icons of the churches everywhere, and destroyed sacred vessels bearing engraved images. He cut out the tongues of those who dared to mutter against this, he punished others with scourging, and he appointed impious men as informers so that wherever they might find those not in communion with him, they might denounce them. He subjected those who were discovered to unbearable scourging, confiscated their property, and sent into exile not only men, but also women. For what is the point of speaking of the darkness of the evils at that time? For he even pursued the faithful who had moved to certain climates and regions that were not appropriate for him.
sending to the governors of the nations he sought to seize, having become another Antichrist. Hence, having seized many bishops and monks, he killed them, and drowned those exiled bishops in the sea, but recalled the monks. C The rest are missing.
FRANC. COMBEFISII NOTES. (23) What he means by "recalled the exiles," the manuscript being defective, we cannot divine.
THE CHRONOGRAPHIA OF LEO GRAMMATICUS
CONTAINING THE AFFAIRS OF THE NEW EMPERORS
THE CHRONOGRAPHIA OF LEO GRAMMATICUS
COMPRISING THE DEEDS PERFORMED BY THE MORE RECENT EMPERORSLeo the Armenian, the transgressor, reigned for seven years and five D months, having been crowned by Patriarch Nicephorus, whom he had assured in writing concerning his own orthodoxy. But the new Sennacherim, Crumus, elated by victory, leaving his own brother to besiege Adrianople, returned to the city six days into the reign of Leo, and circled before the walls [443-445].
FRANC. COMBEFISII NOTES. (*) Whether another monument or memoir of Leo Grammaticus exists, I do not know. That he was a contemporary of those whose deeds he recounted, the subscription itself indicates clearly, conceived in these words: "...completed, in the month of July, on the 8th day, on the feast of the holy and illustrious martyr Procopius, in the year from the creation of the world six thousand six hundred and twenty-one." Whether he is the same one whom Cedrenus mentions at the beginning of his History, this would be a significant conjecture, given both the name of Leo itself, and because other things, added by a slightly more recent hand to the subscription mentioned in the Royal codex, exist: "...Leo of Caria..." For this was added to indicate clearly that he was the author. Leo, prefect and dux of the Cibyrhaeots, who is also Tzicandalus, and a trusted man of our powerful and first emperor. Cibyra is in Caria, according to Pliny; although to others it is in Phrygia, which are neighboring regions. But whether that title better fits the Anonymous continuer of the Vatican and Barberini [codices], whom Cedrenus also utilizes especially after Theophanes, remains uncertain. For he was truly of the emperor, and a familiar of the first, as is clear from the preface, in which he inscribes his history and the Lives of the more recent Emperors to him; namely to Constantine, who was also the first emperor; even though Basil had demoted him from [that] rank after he had been chosen as emperor by him, and had usurped for himself the first place and the supreme authority for governing the state; and he had left to Constantine hardly anything other than the title of majesty. But nothing prevents there having been a Constantio [the author], as he was a friend of letters, [and had] many domestics, or familiars, whose studies he himself fostered. There is hardly anything common to Leo Grammaticus and that anonymous Continuator up to the Life of Basil the Macedonian, which itself is not the work of the anonymous Continuator, but the study of Constantine himself, the grandson of Basil; in the remainder, most things are related, often even conceived in the same words, or facts taken from others, with the words slightly changed, so that the use of one person’s labors is necessary for the others. I must refrain from more extensive remarks, having briefly set forth, as far as possible, only those things which might cause the reader delay, since the volume is already by its own mass almost burdensome, and since it will happen that very many things will reoccur in the following [pages], by which these matters might be illustrated.