Eustratius Garidas

Eustratius Garidas
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Church	Church of Constantinople
In office	8 May 1081 – July 1084
Predecessor	Cosmas I of Constantinople
Successor	Nicholas III of Constantinople
Personal details
Born	?
Died	after 1084

Eustratius Garidas (Greek: Εὐστράτιος Γαριδᾶς; died after 1084) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople between 1081 and 1084. A monk, he was elevated to the patriarchal throne through the influence of the mother of the emperor Alexios I, Anna Dalassene, to whom he had become an intimate advisor.^[1] He was an eunuch.

Anna Comnena and other writers describe him as uneducated and of weak character.^[2] Due to his illiteracy and apparent gullibility he was involved in the case of John Italus, whom his predecessor, Patriarch Cosmas I of Constantinople had condemned. Alexios had to take over the case against Italus as Eustratius, in his words,"rather dwelt at leisure and preferred peace and quiest to noisy throngs, and turned to God alone."^[3]

During the war against the Normans, at the beginning of the reign of Alexios in 1081–1082, Garidas did not resist the expropriation of artworks and consecrated treasures of the capital's churches, destined to be melted for currency to pay the army of Alexios I. This lack of resistance was not forgiven by Leo of Chalcedon who sought to expel him from his throne, at one point also accusing him, without evidence, of diverting part of the appropriate treasure for his own use.^[4] Finally, accused of heresy, Eustratios was cleared by a commission of inquiry established by Alexios in 1084, but he chose to abdicate.

References

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^ Comnena, pp. 108-109.
^ Buckler, p. 290.
^ Buckler, p, 290, note 3.
^ Hussey, p. 148.

Sources

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Ecumenical Patriarchate
Buckler, Georgina. Anna Komnena: A Study. Oxford: University Press, 1929.
Comnena, Anna. The Alexiad. New York: Penguin, 2003.
Hussey, J.M.. The Orthodox Church in the Byzantine Empire. Oxford: University Press, 1986.

Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Cosmas I	Patriarch of Constantinople 1081–1084	Succeeded by Nicholas III Grammatikos

v t e Bishops of Byzantium and Patriarchs of Constantinople
Bishops of Byzantium (Roman period, 38–330 AD)	Andrew Stachys Onesimus Polycarpus I Plutarch Sedecion Diogenes Eleutherius Felix Polycarpus II Athenodorus Euzois Laurence Alypius Pertinax Olympianus Marcus I Philadelphus Cyriacus I Castinus Eugenius I Titus Dometius Rufinus Probus Metrophanes Alexander
Archbishops of Constantinople (Roman period, 330–451 AD)	Alexander Paul I Eusebius Macedonius I Eudoxius Evagrius Demophilus Maximus I Gregory I Nectarius John I Chrysostom Arsacius Atticus Sisinnius I Nestorius Maximianus Proclus Flavian Anatolius
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Byzantine period, 451–1453 AD)	Anatolius Gennadius I Acacius Fravitta Euphemius Macedonius II Timothy I John II Epiphanius Anthimus I Menas Eutychius John III John IV Cyriacus II Thomas I Sergius I Pyrrhus Paul II Peter Thomas II John V Constantine I Theodore I George I Paul III Callinicus I Cyrus John VI Germanus I Anastasius Constantine II Nicetas I Paul IV Tarasius Nicephorus I Theodotus I Antony I John VII Methodius I Ignatios Photios I Stephen I Antony II Nicholas I Εuthymius I Stephen II Tryphon Theophylact Polyeuctus Βasil I Αntony III Nicholas II Sisinnius II Sergius II Eustathius Alexius Michael I Constantine III John VIII Cosmas I Eustratius Nicholas III John IX Leo Michael II Cosmas II Nicholas IV Theodotus II Neophytus I Constantine IV Luke Michael III Chariton Theodosius I Basil II Nicetas II Leontius Dositheus George II John X Michael IV^† Theodore II^† Maximus II^† Μanuel I^† Germanus II^† Methodius II^† Manuel II^† Arsenius^† Nicephorus II^† Germanus III Joseph I John XI Gregory II Athanasius I John XII Nephon I John XIII Gerasimus I Isaias John XIV Isidore I Callistus I Philotheus Macarius Nilus Antony IV Callistus II Matthew I Euthymius II Joseph II Metrophanes II Gregory III Athanasius II
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Ottoman period, 1453–1923 AD)	Gennadius II Isidore II Joasaph I Sophronius I Mark II Symeon I Dionysius I Raphael I Maximus III Nephon II Maximus IV Joachim I Pachomius I Theoleptus I Jeremias I Joannicius I Dionysius II Joasaph II Metrophanes III Jeremias II Pachomius II Theoleptus II Matthew II Gabriel I Theophanes I Meletius I Neophytus II Raphael II Cyril I Timothy II Gregory IV Anthimus II Cyril II Athanasius III Neophytus III Parthenius I Parthenius II Joannicius II Cyril III Paisius I Parthenius III Gabriel II Parthenius IV Dionysius III Clement Methodius III Dionysius IV Gerasimus II Athanasius IV James Callinicus II Neophytus IV Gabriel III Neophytus V Cyprianus Athanasius V Cyril IV Cosmas III Jeremias III (Callinicus III) Paisius II Seraphim I Neophytus VI Cyril V Callinicus IV (III) Seraphim II Joannicius III Samuel Meletius II Theodosius II Sophronius II Gabriel IV Procopius Neophytus VII Gerasimus III Gregory V Callinicus V (IV) Jeremias IV Cyril VI Eugenius II Anthimus III Chrysanthus Agathangelus Constantius I Constantius II Gregory VI Anthimus IV Anthimus V Germanus IV Meletius III Anthimus VI Cyril VII Joachim II Sophronius III Joachim III Joachim IV Dionysius V Neophytus VIII Anthimus VII Constantine V Germanus V Meletius IV
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Turkish period, since 1923 AD)	Gregory VII Constantine VI Basil III Photius II Benjamin Maximus V Athenagoras Demetrius Bartholomew
^† in exile at Nicaea Christianity portal