Nilus Doxapatris

NILUS DOXAPATRIS. - Greek monk from Sicily, author of two geographical treatises on the patriarchates, b. toward the end of the 11th century, d. probably in the second half of the 12th century. Called Nicholas before his religious life, he exercised as deacon of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople ecclesiastical functions and at the same time, as nomophylax of the Empire, civil functions, according to the custom also of other clerics of Hagia Sophia of having such a twofold activity.

It is further known that he was notary of the patriarchate and as such must have acquired a profound knowledge of the patriarchal archive. He renounced his career, however, and entered the monastic life in his native country, Sicily, under the Norman king Roger II (1101-54), a patron of Greek monasticism. At the request of the latter N. composed two treatises of geographical-ecclesiastical statistics, an epitome Epitome of the boundaries (jurisdictional), of the most holy

Works: Of this abbot of Galatia there is an abundant correspondence (1061 letters, according to PG 79, 81-582, which however contain many duplicates and passages unduly detached; e.g., letters 106-113 of book II form a single letter). The Narrationes (ibid., 589-694) belong to a different writer, but seem to fictionalize a story told in the last letter of the collection mentioned. As for the other writings contained in PG 79, some of the more important are perhaps by Evagrius Ponticus, e.g., the Tractatus ad Eulogium (ibid., 1093-1140); more probably the De diversis malignis cogitationibus (ibid., 1200-34) and almost certainly the De oratione (ibid., 1166-99), one of the most celebrated short works written on prayer. To see clearly into all these problems one must await the results of the work undertaken by J. Muyldermans. The De octo vitiosis cogitationibus (ibid., 1435-72) is instead a summary of Cas-

patriarchs and enumeration of the apostolic thrones, composed at Palermo ca. 1142-43, and the Treatise of the five patriarchs, drafted in the first months of the year 1142-43. While the epitome does not have an anti-Roman character, in the second treatise there are observations against the primacy of the pope.

Giorgio Hofmann