His first public writing was quoted by
Facundus (Defensio, II, iv) against
Cyril of Alexandria in two works, probably in 431 or 432, including a passage to show that his work was more violent even than the
letter of Ibas. The
12 Anathemas of Saint Cyril and Two Books to Parthenius were criticised. In the latter he exclaims, "How many times have I heard blasphemies from
Cyril of Alexandria? Woe to the scourge of Alexandria!". In 433 Gennadius probably reconciled with Cyril. If Cyril's letter of 434 (Ep. LVI) is to the same Gennadius, they were friends in that year. Gennadius was a
presbyter at
Constantinople when he succeeded
Anatolius of Constantinople in 458 as the
Bishop of Constantinople. From the beginning of his
episcopate Gennadius proved his zeal for the Christian faith and the maintenance of discipline. His discretion was before long tested.
Timothy II of Alexandria, the
monophysite who made himself the
Patriarch of Alexandria and was later chased from the
Patriarchate by order of the
Roman emperor, had obtained leave to come to Constantinople, intending to re-establish himself on his throne. On 17 June 460,
Pope Leo I warned Gennadius (Ep. CLXX) against Timothy II, and urged him to prevent the voyage of Timothy II and to secure the immediate
consecration of an Orthodox Patriarch for
Alexandria. Timothy II was banished to the Chersonese, and
Timothy Salophakiolos was chosen bishop of Alexandria in his stead. About the same time, Gennadius' liberality and desire for order was observed in his appointment of Marcian, a
Novatianist who had come over to the
Catholic Church, the
oeconomus of the goods of the church of Constantinople. Two Egyptian solitaries told
John Moschus a story which is also recorded by
Theodorus Lector. The church of Saint
Pope Eleutherius at Constantinople was served by a reader named Carisius, who led a disorderly life. Gennadius first reprimanded him and then had him flogged. When both measures proved ineffectual, the patriarch prayed to Eleutherius to either correct the unworthy reader or to take him from the world. Next day Carisius was found dead, to the terror of the whole town. Theodorus also relates how a painter, presuming to depict the Saviour under the form of
Jupiter, had his hand withered, but was healed by the prayers of Gennadius. About the same time
Daniel the Stylite began to live on a column near Constantinople, apparently without the permission of the Patriarch or the owner of the property where the pillar stood, who strongly objected to this strange invasion of his land. The Emperor
Leo I protected the
ascetic, and some time later sent Gennadius to ordain him
priest, which he is said to have done standing at the foot of the column because Daniel objected to being ordained and refused to let the bishop mount the ladder. At the end of the
rite, however, the patriarch ascended to give
Holy Communion to the stylite and to receive it from him. Whether he then imposed his hands on him is not said. Possibly he considered it sufficient to extend them from below towards Daniel. According to Theodorus Lector, Gennadius would allow no one to become a cleric unless he had learned the Psalter by heart. Measures had been taken against
simony, the buying and selling of holy orders, by the
Council of Chalcedon. It seems not later than 459, Gennadius celebrated a great council of 81 bishops, many of whom were from the East and even from Egypt, including those who had been dispossessed of their sees by Timothy II of Alexandria. The letter of this council against
simony is still preserved (
Giovanni Domenico Mansi, VII, 912). An encyclical was issued, adding
anathema to the former sentence. He stands out as an able and successful administrator whom historians have roundly praised. == Biblical works ==