Saint John the Faster

Patriarch of Constantinople
(died 595)

Saint John the Faster, or John IV of Constantinople, served as Patriarch of Constantinople from 582 until his death in 595. He received his distinctive epithet from the remarkable austerity of his personal life: he is said to have lived on bread, water, and vegetables, sleeping on the ground and wearing the roughest garments beneath his patriarchal vestments. His fasting and poverty were the admiration of all who knew him and gave him a reputation for personal holiness that transcended the considerable controversy of his pontificate.

The controversy arose from his use of the title Ecumenical Patriarch, which he assumed around 588. This title, which implied a kind of universal jurisdiction over all bishops, was strenuously opposed by Pope Gregory the Great, who engaged in a vigorous correspondence with John and with the Emperor Maurice on the subject. Gregory argued that such a title was contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, which called leaders to service rather than domination, and he pointedly styled himself Servant of the Servants of God in explicit contrast. He also noted that if one bishop were ecumenical, then all other bishops would be diminished below their proper dignity.

John maintained the title, but the quarrel, while sharp in its written exchanges, did not destroy communion between Rome and Constantinople. Gregory continued to regard John as a holy man despite their disagreement on this point. John's genuine personal sanctity is not in question: he gave away his personal fortune, lived in voluntary poverty in the midst of great ecclesiastical wealth, and was mourned by the people of Constantinople at his death in 595 as a man of God. His feast is celebrated in the Eastern churches on September 2nd.