Saint Nectarius of Constantinople

Nectarius of Constantinople (Greek: Νεκτάριος; died 27 September 397) was the archbishop of Constantinople from 381 until his death, the successor to Saint Gregory of Nazianzus and predecessor to John Chrysostom. Born in Tarsus in Cilicia of a noble family, he was widely known for his admirable character. When Gregory resigned as Archbishop of Constantinople, Nectarius was praetor of Constantinople. Preparing for a journey to Tarsus, he called on the bishop of Tarsus, Diodorus, who was attending the First Council of Constantinople (one of the ecumenical councils), to ask if he could take letters for him; his appearance and manners struck Diodorus so forcibly that he at once determined that he should be advanced as a candidate for Bishop; making an excuse of attending to some other business, he took Nectarius to see Meletius of Antioch. The Roman emperor Theodosius I asked the Bishops at the Council to suggest new candidates from whom he could pick the new bishop. The Bishop of Antioch put Nectarius' name at the bottom of his list. After reading the lists, the emperor declared Nectarius to be his choice. This caused some amazement among the Fathers who wanted to know who and what this Nectarius was. He was still only a catechumen. There was much astonishment at the emperor's unexpected choice, but the people of Constantinople were delighted at the news as was the whole council. Nectarius was duly baptized and his clothes were changed for the robes of a Bishop of the Imperial City and became at once president of the First Council of Constantinople. Nectarius ruled the church for upwards of 16 years and is thought of as having been a good prelate. His name heads the 150 signatures to the canons of the First Council of Constantinople. Given the personal favor which the emperor bore to Nectarius, the 3rd canon declared that the Bishop of Constantinople shall hold the first rank after the bishop of Rome because Constantinople is the new Rome.