Patriarch Michael II of Constantinople (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Michael II Kourkouas (Oxeites) (Greek: ) was an Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (July 1143 - March 1146).When at the beginning of 1143 Patriarch Leo and Emperor John II Komnenos died within a few months of each other, the Byzantine Church entered a period of great turbulence. Soon after assuming power, Manuel I saw to the election of Michael Kourkouas, a monk from the island monastery of Oxeia, as the new patriarch; the sources stress the emperor''s active involvement in the election. Manuel I himself was crowned by the new patriarch next month, upon entering Constantinople. Upon taking the office Michael II was involved with religious persecution of the Bogomils. After three years Michael II resigned in disillusion with the emperor''s religious policies.