Hierarch
Hierarch Maximian of Constantinople
патр. 431 — †12 апреля 434
Also known as: Максим Константинопольский
Hierarch Maximian (Maxim) of Constantinople — Archbishop of Constantinople (431-434), elected to the see after the heretic Nestorius was deposed by the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus, who through diplomatic efforts persuaded the Eastern bishops sympathetic to Nestorius to accept the council's decisions; he reposed on Holy Thursday 434.
Hierarch Maximian was born in Rome to a wealthy and pious family. Even before his episcopate he became known for works of mercy — personally organizing and funding the burial of the poor and unclaimed dead. Having moved to Constantinople, he was ordained a presbyter by Patriarch Sisinius I and was noted for the purity and virtue of his life.
After the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431) condemned and deposed Patriarch Nestorius for heresy (denying the title Theotokos and holding a distorted teaching on the union of natures in Christ), Hierarch Maximian was elevated to the vacant patriarchal throne on October 25, 431, under Emperor Theodosius II.
The start of his patriarchate was marked by resistance: some Eastern (Syrian, Antiochene) bishops sympathetic to Nestorius initially refused to recognize either his deposition or the legitimacy of Maximian's election. Through persistent diplomatic effort the hierarch secured the majority of Eastern bishops' acceptance of the council's decisions, cementing the condemnation of Nestorianism and stabilizing the see.
One of his letters to St. Cyril of Alexandria survives. He reposed on April 12, 434 — a date that fell that year on Holy (Great) Thursday.
His feast is kept on April 21/May 4. NOTE: the Slavic manuscript tradition also records dates of November 20 and 17, but according to sources these were often confused with the commemoration of a different patriarch, Maximus III of Constantinople (5th c.); the consistently confirmed modern date, April 21/May 4, has been adopted as primary. The dual Slavic naming "Maximian (Maxim)" reflects the accepted calendar form, not two different persons.