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Nikephoros I of Constantinople
patriarch of Constantinople
SaintResearchedByzantine EmpireDate unknown
Feast: 13 March (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
758
verified
Died
2 June 829
verified
Beatified
—
not on record
Canonised
—
not on record
Who they were
Nicephorus, son of an imperial secretary, himself became an imperial secretary and represented the empress at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. He later founded a monastery and ran the great hospital of Constantinople.
As Patriarch from 806, he championed the veneration of images, and was deposed and banished in 815. He died in exile on 2 June 829; his relics were brought back by St Methodius.
The miracles
His feast is kept in both the Greek and Roman Churches; there was never a formal cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A patriarch who died in exile for the holy images.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Nicephorus
- Wikidata Q116639 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Nikephoros I of Constantinople (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.