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'''John VII Grammaticus of Constantinople''' was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 836 to 843. He was an [[Iconoclast]] who was chosen patriarch by the iconoclastic emperor, [[Theophilus the Iconoclast|Theodosius]], but was [[deposition|deposed]] by Theodosius' widow, [[Theodora (9th century empress)|Theodora]].
==Life==
John was of Armenian origin, born into an aristocratic family. The date of his birth is unknown. His father was Pankaratios Morocharzanios. His brother Arsaber married a sister of the empress Theodora. John's sister, Irene, was the mother of the Patriarch [[Photius the Great|Photius]].
John was a painter of [[icon]]s and was associated with [[Theodore the Studite|Theodore of Studios]]. He entered the service of the Church about the year 811. However, by 814 he had become a confirmed Iconoclast iconoclast in the administration of emperor Leo V. Leo chose him to lead a committee that was responsible for collecting patristic texts that supported the theological position of [[iconoclasm]] in preparation for a [[synod]] that met in 815 . With the restoration of iconoclasm, John was rewarded with an appointment to the Monastery of Sergius and re-instituted itBacchus as its [[abbot]].
John was responsible for the education of Theophilus, the future emperor, during the reign of his father emperor Michael II. He instilling in the young Theophilus strong iconoclast sympathies. After Theophilus succeeded his father as emperor in 829, John was appointed synkellos (patriarch's assistant), a position that made him a likely heir to the patriarchal throne.
After the patriarchal throne became vacant in 836, he was appointed patriarch, as John VII, by Theophilus. John may have been responsible for intensification of the persecution of [[Iconoduleiconodule]]s during the later part of Theophilus' reign. After the death of Theophilus' death in 842, John he was deposed succeeded by Theophilus' widowhis wife, the empress Theodora, an iconodule who was related to John. John's relativeVII was then [[deposition|deposed]] by Theodora, as a start towards ending Iconoclasm before the synod in 843was convened that finally ended iconoclasm. The deposed proclamation of 843 that restored [[veneration]] of icons began the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy that since has been celebrated by the Orthodox Church each year on the first Sunday of [[patriarchGreat Lent|Lent]] survived . The deposed Patr. John VII lived into the 860s. The date of his death is not known.
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