Hierarch Proclus

Saint Proclus of Constantinople was born around 390. As a young man he became a disciple and secretary of Saint John Chrysostom, who ordained him deacon and later presbyter. After Chrysostom's exile, Proclus continued to serve under his successors, Patriarchs Sisinius and Atticus. Around 426 he was consecrated Bishop of Cyzicus, but the local flock refused to receive him, and he returned to Constantinople as a titular bishop without a see. In 434, following the death of Patriarch Maximian, Proclus was unanimously elected Patriarch of Constantinople and governed the Church for twelve years. Through his efforts, under the pious Emperor Theodosius II, the relics of Saint John Chrysostom were solemnly translated from Comana back to Constantinople in 438 — an act that restored justice to his beloved teacher. Proclus became renowned as an eloquent preacher and one of the earliest great theologians of devotion to the Most Holy Theotokos, author of a famous homily on the Virgin delivered in Nestorius's presence. Patriarch Proclus fell asleep in the Lord in 446 (some sources say 447), remembered as a zealous shepherd and defender of Orthodoxy.