John, Patriarch of Antioch

JOHN, Patriarch of Antioch. - Died in 441-42. Educated in the Christian religion from childhood, he acquired a great knowledge of theology and ecclesiastical legislation. Good by nature, he was inclined to gentleness and moderation. In 428-29 he was elected bishop of Antioch and soon found himself involved in the affair of Nestorius, of whom he was a personal friend, receiving from it bitterness and displeasure. Having learned of the condemnation of the heretic, he wrote him in 430 a fine letter, exhorting him to submission.

In 431 he went to Ephesus to take part in the Council that condemned Nestorius and proclaimed the divine motherhood of Mary. But he arrived there late and, having learned of the condemnation of Nestorius, adopted a harsh and intransigent attitude especially toward St. Cyril. He then held a conciliabulum with the bishops of his party, in which Cyril was excommunicated; but he was in turn excommunicated by the legitimate Council together with 34 followers. Peace was restored only in 433 with the so-called "edict of union," on account of which, however, J. had to face the wrath of the bishops and clergy of his jurisdiction, intransigent supporters of Nestorius. He had further displeasures when he was asked to subscribe to the Tome of Proclus of Constantinople and to condemn Theodore of Mopsuestia; on this occasion, however, he knew well how to maneuver and to avert dangerous complications.

Agostino Amore