Saint of the day: Methodius I of Constantinople

St. Methodius I of Constantinople was born in Syracuse at the end of the eighth century. He came to Constantinople to obtain a place at court, but was persuaded to join a monastery instead. He opposed the government during the Iconoclast persecution and served as a liaison between the pope and the emperor of Constantinople.

The emperor Michael refused to stop his persecution, and punished Methodius by forcing him to spend seven years in a disused tomb on the island of Antigoni.

Methodius was set free from his prison in 828, when Michael stopped his persecution and proclaimed general amnesty, but his son led an even greater persecution, which Methodius stood against, and suffered greatly.

In the last five years of his life, Methodius served as the Patriarch of Constantinople. He died in 846, on June 14, in Constantinople.

Methodius is said to have written many works, although only a few sermons and letters are still in existence.