DALMATIUS, St. — Archimandrite of the first monastery of Constantinople, d. ca. 440. After having served as a soldier under Theodosius I, he became a monk in the monastery under the guidance of Isaac, whom he succeeded.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, while presiding over the Council at Ephesus (431), wrote him a letter so that he might in turn inform the Emperor, whose delegate, Candidian, was favoring the cause of Nestorius. To ensure its safe delivery, Cyril concealed the letter inside a reed carried by a poor man. Dalmatius, upon learning of the Saint’s difficulties, left his monastery for the first time in 48 years and went with a procession of abbots and monks to Theodosius II to plead the cause of St. Cyril. He obtained that the Emperor summon delegates of the Cyrillians and the Antiochenes to confer with them at Chalcedon. Dalmatius is celebrated by the Greeks on August 3.