Athanasius I Manasses

The origins and early life of Athanasius remain poorly documented. His family name, Manasses, is attested in the Life of Athanasius, preserved in a manuscript held at Saint Catherine's Monastery, as well as in synodal documents. The relative rarity of this name in later records, particularly during the period of the Palaiologos dynasty, suggests that it was not widely used. Athanasius's only surviving work, a eulogy of Christodoulos of Patmos, indicates that he was a monk of the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian on the island of Patmos. In this work, he states that he composed the text "by command and in obedience", most likely at the request of his brethren, while absent from the monastery and acting as a representative of its community.^[1]

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Following the death, c. 1156, of the titular Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Luke, the theologian Soterichos Panteugenos was elected as his successor.^[2] However, his teaching on the Eucharist was condemned by synods held at Constantinople in 1156 and 1157. Consequently, even before his episcopal consecration, a synod declared him ineligible for the patriarchal throne in May 1157.^[2][3] The Byzantinist Albert Failler argues, because no other intervening incumbent is known, that Athanasius was most probably elected patriarch in the same year. On this view, it was Athanasius whom Emperor Manuel I Komnenos had in mind when, in 1159, he sought to persuade Raynald of Châtillon, the Frankish prince of Antioch, to permit the Orthodox patriarch to take possession of his see in the city.^[4] The historian Bernard Hamilton suggests that Manuel probably abandoned this plan because his insistence would jeopardise his amicable relations with the Crusader states and his alliance with the papacy, a key partner in opposition to Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa.^[5]

Christmas Day 1161 constitutes one of the few securely attested dates in Athanasius's life.^[6] On that day, he assisted at the nuptial blessing conferred by Luke Chrysoberges, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, upon Emperor Manuel and Maria of Antioch at Hagia Sophia.^[5][6] In March 1166, Athanasius is likewise recorded as having participated in a synod convened to examine the meaning of Christ's words in the Gospel of John, "ho patēr mou meizōn mou estin" ('my Father is greater than I'). In the view of Failler, both occasions indicate that he was residing in Constantinople during this period. By this period, the Hodegon Monastery had come to serve as the official residence of the Patriarchs of Antioch in Constantinople.^[7] By contrast, Hamilton argues that Athanasius was already resident in Antioch as patriarch when he attended the synod in Constantinople.^[8]

Athanasius was able to occupy the patriarchal throne in Antioch as a consequence of political developments in the Levant. In August 1164, the combined forces of Bohemond III of Antioch, Raymond III of Tripoli, and Constantine Kalamanos, the Byzantine governor of Cilicia, suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of Nur ad-Din, the Muslim ruler of Aleppo and Damascus, at the Battle of Harim. The Christian leaders were taken captive on the battlefield, and, being unable to meet the required ransom, Bohemond travelled to Constantinople to seek assistance from Emperor Manuel I, who was both his brother-in-law and his overlord. Manuel agreed to provide aid on condition that Bohemond consented to the installation of the Greek Orthodox patriarch in Antioch.^[9]

Athanasius accompanied Bohemond back to Antioch, where he was enthroned as patriarch in the Cathedral of Saint Peter. The city's incumbent Catholic patriarch, Aimery of Limoges, withdrew to the patriarchal fortress of Qusair (now Altınözü, Turkey) and excommunicated all Franks who recognised Athanasius.^[10] These events are recorded only by the Syriac (or Jacobite) prelate Michael the Syrian, who maintained amicable relations with the Catholic clergy but harboured little confidence in the Greek Orthodox, whom he regarded as less tolerant towards the Syriac Church.^[10] The historians Andrew D. Buck and Kevin J. Lewis date Athanasius's move to Antioch to 1165,^[11][12] whereas Failler maintains that Athanasius did not leave Constantinople until after March 1166, because the eastern patriarchs attended synods in the city only when they were physically present there.^[13]

The scholar of religion Christopher MacEvitt notes that Athanasius's "presence in the city was a constant reminder of Manuel's domination" of the Principality of Antioch.^[14] Pope Alexander III did not object to Athanasius's installation; Hamilton explains this by noting that the Pope's allies, the northern Italian cities, depended heavily upon Byzantine subsidies in their opposition to Frederick Barbarossa. Hamilton further notes that Athanasius neither replaced his Latin suffragan bishops with Orthodox prelates nor removed the Latin canons of the cathedral of Antioch.^[8] By contrast, Lewis argues that Orthodox prelates supplanted Catholic bishops "in a handful of other dioceses within the patriarchate", while also acknowledging that there is "no definite evidence" for the presence of Orthodox bishops in any of the bishoprics of the County of Tripoli.^[15]

Following his installation as the new Syriac Patriarch of Antioch in 1166, Michael the Syrian, undertook an extensive tour of Cilician Armenia, the Principality of Antioch, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. During this journey, he met the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Amalric of Nesle, as well as the exiled Patriarch Aimery, but declined to visit Athanasius.^[16] In 1168, a prolonged controversy arose between the Greek and Syriac clergy, as attested by an extensive body of correspondence continuing until 1171.^[17] The correspondence was connected with Manuel I Komnenos’s ultimately unsuccessful attempt to secure a reconciliation with the Syriac and Armenian Churches under Orthodox leadership, thereby strengthening his position as protector of the Christians of northern Syria.^[18]

In June 1170, the Near East was struck by a devastating earthquake.^[19] Two medieval sources, the Gestes des Chyprois and the chronicle attributed to Sempad the Constable, state that it affected Antioch on 29 June, the feast day of St Peter and St Paul. Two Syriac authors, Michael the Syrian and Bar Hebraeus, explicitly record that the earthquake destroyed "the great church of the Greeks" (the Cathedral of St Peter). Michael further relates that the building collapsed upon Athanasius, who was discovered still alive but died while being carried out of the city.^[20] The Franks of Antioch interpreted Athanasius's death as a manifestation of divine wrath, and the exiled Aimery of Limoges resumed his position.^[21] Michael the Syrian records that Bohemond III of Antioch travelled to Qusair to persuade Aimery to return in person.^[22]