CIRIACO, PATRIARCA DI COSTANTINOPOLI

CYRIACUS, patriarch of Constantinople. — He was elected to this see in 595 under Emperor Maurice. Continuing in the tradition of his predecessor John IV “the Faster,” in the letter in which he notified Pope Gregory I of his elevation and transmitted his profession of faith, C. appropriated for himself the title “ecumenical.” As had his predecessor Pelagius II, the Pope protested against this claim, and an exchange of letters ensued that remained without result. C. vigorously opposed the attempt of Emperor Phocas to seize Constantina, widow of Maurice, and her daughters who had taken refuge in a sacred place. In 607 Pope Boniface III obtained from Phocas himself an edict by which the patriarch of Constantinople was forbidden to use the ecumenical title; but this prohibition was not observed after the death of Phocas. Meanwhile C. had also died on 29 Oct. 606 and was buried in the church of the Apostles; he left the memory of a man of zeal and piety.