Anthony IV, patriarch of Constantinople (1389–90; 1391–97)
Obverse
The Mother of God, seated on a backless throne, holding Christ on her knees. At left and right, two sets of sigla M-P-ΘV: Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ, and IC-XC: Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς Χ(ριστό)ς. Border of dots.
Obverse
The Mother of God, seated on a backless throne, holding Christ on her knees. At left and right, two sets of sigla M-P-ΘV: Μή(τη)ρ Θ(εο)ῦ, and IC-XC: Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς Χ(ριστό)ς. Border of dots.
Reverse
Inscription of eight lines. Border of dots.
ΑΝΤΩ
ΝΙΟΣΕΛΕΩΘΥ
ΧΙΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΣ
ΚΩΝΝΤΙΝΟΥΠΟ
ΛΕΩΣΝΕΑΣΡΜΗΣ
ΚΑΙΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙ
ΚΟΣΠΡΙΑΡΧΗ
Σ
Ἀντώνιος ἐλέο Θ(εο)ῦ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως Νέας Ῥώμης καὶ οἰκουμενικὸς π(ατ)ριάρχης.
Accession number | BZS.1958.106.312 (formerly DO 58.106.312) |
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Diameter | 38.0 mm; field: 32.0 mm |
Previous Editions | DO Seals 6, no. 126.1; Zacos, Seals 2: no. 50a; Laurent, Corpus 5.3: no.1634. Mentioned in Dated Lead Seals, no. 155. Cf. Galavaris, “Thokos,” no. 68 (p. 180). |
Translation
Ἀντώνιος ἐλέο Θεοῦ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως Νέας Ῥώμης καὶ οἰκουμενικὸς πατριάρχης.
Anthony, by the grace of God, archbishop of Constantinople, the New Rome, and ecumenical patriarch.
Bibliography
- Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Vol. 6, Emperors, Patriarchs of Constantinople, Addenda (Open in Zotero)
- Byzantine Lead Seals, Vol. 2 (Open in Zotero)
- Le Corpus des sceaux de l’empire byzantin (Open in Zotero)
- A Collection of Dated Byzantine Lead Seals (Open in Zotero)
- The Representation of the Virgin and Child on a ‘Thokos’ on Seals of the Constantinopolitan Patriarchs (Open in Zotero)
- Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (Open in Zotero)
- Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit (Open in Zotero)
- A Biographical Dictionary of the Byzantine Empire (Open in Zotero)
Commentary
Anthony was twice patriarch. He served briefly under John V (1341–91) and then again under Manuel II (1391–1425), at whose coronation he officiated in February of 1392. He promoted among the rulers of Poland and Russia the notion of a crusade, led by Sigismund of Hungary, against the Turks and requested that Grand Prince Basil of Moscow reinscribe the name of the Byzantine emperor in the diptychs in Moscow, after it had been dropped. See ODB 1:125; PLP 1: no. 1113; Nicol, Biographical Dictionary, 10.
Three seals of this patriarch, still attached to the documents they validated, have survived on Mount Athos. One in the archives of the monastery of Vatopedi, dating from April of 1389, is published in Oikonomides, Dated Lead Seals, no. 155. The second dates from June of 1393, illustrated in Zacos, Seals 2: no. 50b and Laurent, Corpus 5.1: no. 46. The third dates from June of 1395 and is preserved in the archives of the monastery of Koutloumousiou, illustrated in Zacos, Seals 2: no. 50c and Laurent, Corpus 5.1: no. 47.