View source for Stephen I of Constantinople

Our father among the [[saint]]s '''Stephen I of Constantinople''' was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 886 to 893. Placed in office at a very young age, he distinguished himself by his temperance, his vigilance watching over his spiritual flock, interceding for the defenseless, and his concern for the welfare of widows and orphans. His [[feast day]] is [[May 17]]. 

==Life==
Stephen (Greek: Στέφανος) was the younger son of Eudokia Ingerina and, officially, the Eastern Roman Emperor Basil I the Macedonian. He was the brother by birth of the emperor Leo VI the Wise. However, at the time when he was conceived, Eudokia was the mistress of Emperor Michael III, and consequently, it is possible or even probable that like his older brother Leo, Stephen was actually Michael's son.

Stephen was castrated by Basil I. He was [[tonsure]]d a [[monk]] and placed for a career in the church as planned from his childhood. He was [[ordination|ordained]] a [[priest]] during the time of Patriarch Photios. In 886, upon his succession to the throne, his brother, the new Emperor Leo VI, dismissed [[Photios the Great|Patr. Photios]] and appointed Stephen, then 19-year old, as patriarch.

Other than his participation in the ceremonial reburial of Michael III by Leo VI in the imperial mausoleum attached to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople, Patr. Stephen was not involved in important events during his patriarchate other than acquiring a reputation for piety. 

Patr.  Stephen reposed peacefully in May 893 and was buried in the Sikellian Monastery.

{{start box}}
{{succession| 
before=[[Photius the Great|Photios I]]| 
title=[[List of Patriarchs of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]]| 
years=886&ndash;893| 
after=Antony II Kauleas}}
{{end box}}

==Reference==
* ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, 1991.

==Sources==
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsLife.asp?FSID=101411  OCA: Saint Stephen, Patriarch of Constantinople]
*[[Wikipedia:Stephen_I_of_Constantinople]]

==External link==
*[http://wiki.phantis.com/index.php/Stephen_I_of_Constantinople  Stephen I of Constantinople]

[[Category: Saints]]
[[Category: Bishops]]
[[Category: Patriarchs of Jerusalem]]