Isaac of Dalmatia

The meeting of St. Isaac of Dalmatia with the Emperor Theodosius at the Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Iwan Vitali created Theodosius with the facial features of Alexander I.

Isaac of Dalmatia (* in the 4th century in Syria , † 396 in Constantinople; also Isaac, Abbot of Constantinople or St. Isaac ) was a Byzantine monk, prophet and saint.

He is said to have lived as an ascetic monk in the desert when he learned that the ruler Valens was promoting , in Isaac's eyes, pagan Arianism . Thereupon he moved to Constantinople to support the followers of the Trinitarianism in the fight against the infidels. Allegedly their churches were closed or even destroyed at that time.

When Valens went to the Battle of Adrianople against insurgent Visigoths shortly afterwards , Isaac asked him for peace for the Trinitarians in exchange for God's help. When Valens refuses several times, Isaac is said to have prophesied a cruel death for him. The angry ruler is said to have had Isaac thrown into dungeon by his assistants Saturninus and Victor.

After the news of Valen's death reached Constantinople, Isaac was released and venerated as a prophet . He is said to have supported Theodosius I afterwards, who issued his edict of the Three Emperor at this time .

Saturninus built 381 / 382 the first monastery in Constantinople Opel , whose spiritual leader was Isaac. He is also said to have invested a lot of energy in charity. As Isaac grew older, he handed the monastery over to his disciple Dalmatos, after whose name it was later named. The nickname Isaac is based on this Dalmatian monastery (του Δαλματου), not after the Dalmatian landscape.

The Orthodox church calendar celebrates it on May 30th.

The largest church in honor of Isaac is the Isaac Cathedral in Saint Petersburg .

literature

Reinhard Tenberg: Isaak, abbot in Constantinople, saint. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 1351. ( Article / beginning of article in the Internet archive )

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personal data
SURNAME	Isaac of Dalmatia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Isaac Abbot of Constantinople
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Byzantine monk, prophet and saint
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century
PLACE OF BIRTH	Syria
DATE OF DEATH	396
Place of death	Constantinople