28. Pantokrator - Dumbarton Oaks

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28. PANTOKRATOR 28. Pantokrator: Typikon of Emperor John II Komnenos for the Monastery of Christ Pantokrator in Constantinople Date: October 1136 Translator: Robert Jordan Edition employed: Paul Gautier, “Le typikon du Christ Sauveur Pantocrator,” REB 32 (1974), 1–145, with text at 27–131. Manuscripts: Parisinus graecus 389, fols. 1–61 (before 1740); Codex 85, nunc 79, Theological School, Halki, now in the Patriarchal Library, Istanbul, fols. 69–122v (1749). 1 Other translation: French, by Gautier, “Pantocrator,” pp. 26–130. Institutional History A. Description of the Foundation The monastery of Christ tou Pantokratoros “The Ruler of All” was built by Emperor John II Komnenos (1118–43) on a hill in the north central part of Constantinople. 2 In some sources the work is attributed to his spouse Irene, daughter of King Ladislas of Hungary. 3 The construction is attributed to an architect named Nikephoros. The foundation included a triple church, with discrete but physically joined facilities dedicated to Christ Pantokrator (south church), the Archangel Michael (central church), and the Mother of God Eleousa (north church). This structure survives as the mosque Zeyrek Kilise Camii in modern Istanbul. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Pantokrator was built first, followed by the Eleousa, and lastly by the Archangel Michael, which was designed to serve as an imperial mortuary chapel for the Komnenian dynasty. 4 There was also a famous hospital attached to the foundation as well as an old age home. A lepers’ sanatorium associated with the foundation was in a separate location. All of these structural components of the foundation are mentioned in the typikon translated below. B. Pantokrator under the Komnenian Dynasty Though it was technically an independent monastery (see [69] below), the Komnenian emperors employed Pantokrator for many of the usual purposes of more traditional imperial monasteries. Upon his sudden accession to the throne upon John II’s accidental death in 1143, Manuel I Komnenos (1143–80) ordered the megas domestikos John Axouch to confine his older brother Isaac Komnenos there until he himself was able to reach Constantinople. Both John II and his wife Irene were buried there, in 1143 and 1134 respectively. In 1158, Manuel buried his wife Bertha (Irene) of Sulzbach in the mortuary chapel, and in 1180 he himself was buried there too. 5 The monastery also began its famous collection of icons and relics at this time, including an icon of St. Demetrios brought by Manuel I from Thessalonike in 1149, and the marble slab on [ 725 ]
TWELFTH CENTURY which Jesus Christ was thought to have been laid out for burial, brought by the same emperor from Ephesos in 1169/70. 6 The first known superior of the foundation was Joseph Hagioglykerites, who is mentioned in a source in 1149 in connection with Pantokrator’s acquisition of the icon of St. Demetrios and also as the donor of an undated manuscript to the monastery of the Mother of God Pantanassa on the tiny island of Hagia Glykeria south of Cape Akritas where he himself had once been a monk. 7 Since (28) Pantokrator [24] limits the pool for the selection of a superior to monks already at the head monastery or its dependencies, Gautier (“Pantocrator,” p. 22) supposed that Joseph was either John II’s own first appointee as superior or else Pantanassa must have become a dependency before his elevation to the office. He apparently served until his death, circa 1154–55. C. Pantokrator during the Latin Empire of Constantinople (1204–61) 8 The foundation was located in the quarter of the city conceded to the Venetians, who used it as a repository for valuable relics and the famous icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria that they had forcibly removed from Hagia Sophia in 1206. Other famous relics of the monastery, including a head of St. Blasios sent by the Latin emperor Baldwin II (1240–61) to St. Louis IX (1226–70) of France, were dispersed to various locations in western Europe. It is not known whether the monastery continued to be inhabited by Greek monks during the era of Latin rule, or whether they were replaced by monks from western Europe. D. Pantokrator under the Palaiologan Dynasty (1261–1453) Michael VIII Palaiologos (1259–82) is reported in a traveler’s account to have sought out the icon of the Hodegetria at the Pantokrator immediately upon the Greek reconquest of Constantinople so it could be paraded on August 15, 1261, as he made his re-entry to the city. 9 A report that Michael VIII’s Genoese allies set fire to Pantokrator to avenge the Venetian destruction of one of their churches in Acre probably refers to some dependency rather than the principal foundation. 10 Michael VIII chose Theodosios of Villehardouin, then superior of another monastery, to serve as the Pantokrator’s spiritual director, circa 1261–62. 11 In 1265, the emperor entrusted Theodosios with the care of his illegitimate daughter Mary while she was traveling to the Mongol khan Hülegü to consummate a marriage alliance. On his return, Theodosios retired to the monastery of the Mother of God ton Hodegon rather than to Pantokrator, which suggests that he must have resigned the office of superior of the latter institution. Considered as a candidate for the patriarchate of Constantinople in 1275, Theodosios was actually named patriarch of Antioch in 1277 or 1278, serving until 1283 or 1284. Early in his reign, Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282–1325) used the monastery as a place of imprisonment for opponents of his anti-unionist policy vis-à-vis the Roman church. 12 The son of the Serbian king Stefan Uros II Milutin (1282–1321), Stefan Decanski, was imprisoned here too in 1313–20, along with his own two sons. 13 Alexios Philanthropenos may also have been imprisoned here after being blinded at the order of the emperor. 14 Andronikos II also resumed use of the monastery as an imperial burial site, interring his second wife Irene here in 1317. 15 Eight members of the ruling dynasty were buried at Pantokrator in the fifteenth century, including the emperors Manuel II Palaiologos (1391–1425) and John VIII Palaiologos (1425–48). 16 [ 726 ]
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