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painting, Le Beau (Hist, du Bas Empire^ vol. xiv. p. 362) calls him,the most eminent painter of his time. It is, however, well known that his contemporaries, Modalulph in France, Tutilo in Germany, and Lazarus in Constantinople, enjoyed also a first-rate reputation as painters. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. p. 272 ; Cedren. p. 489, &c. ; Simeon Metaphr* Annal. p. 412, &c. ; Zorian vol. ii. p. 134 &c., in the Paris edition; Bolland, Vitae Cyrilli et Methodii; J. G. Stredowsky, Vita Method, in Sacra Moraviae Hist, pulzbach, 1710^ 4to.; Chr. Sam. Schmidt, Ward tias Christenfkum in Bohmen von Methud (Methodius)^ fyc. eingefuhrt 2 Leipzig, 1789, 8vo,|
2. confessor, patriarch of Constantinople, was called 'O/j.o\oy4ra, or Confessor^ on account of his firm adherence to the worship of images. He was a native of Syracuse, where he was born towards the close of the eighth century of our era, but went to Constantinople and took holy orders, after giving his property to the church and the poor. For some time he lived in a convent in the island of - Chios. The severe measures of the emperor Leo Armenus induced him to take refuge among the orthodox in Rome, but he returned to Greece after the death of Leo, in 820. Shortly afterwards he was sent by Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople, as ambassador to pope Pashalis, who entrusted him with a letter to Michael, in order to persuade the emperor to behave less harshly against the orthodox. For this service poor Methodius paid very dearly. Michael, offended by the pope's letter, ordered seven hundred lashes to be inflicted upon the back of Methodius, who, half dead, was thrown into an awful dungeon in one of the islands of the Propontis, where he would have perished from want of food had not a poor fisherman accidentally discovered him, and kept him alive by occasional supplies of bread and fish. He remained there several years ; but being a man of great talents and acknowledged skill in administrative affairs, he was recalled by Theophilus, son and successor of Michael, who gave him suitable apartments in his own palace. In a short time Methodius obtained great influence at the court; but his orthodox principle caused him a second flogging and a second imprisonment in his former dungeon. Again released, he returned to Constantinople and was compelled to accompany Theophilus in his campaigns against the Arabs, the emperor being in want of his talents, although he did not trust him sufficiently to leave him in the capital. His life, however, was far from being agreeable, several plots having been made to ruin him : among other charges brought forth against him was that of having committed fornication with a reputed courtisan, who declared she was pregnant by the pious bishop ; but Methodius cleared himself of this imputed misdemeanour. Theophilus died in 842. He was succeeded by his widow, Theodora, who reigned for her infant son, Michael III.; and being a professed friend of images, she bestowed her powerful protection upon Methodius, and caused him to be chosen patriarch of Constantinople in the very year of his accession (842). This high office Methodius held till his death, on the 14th of June, 846, displaying constantly the greatest activity in suppressing the iconoclasts, and restoring the worship of images. Methodius was a "very learned man, and wrote a considerable number of works on r, of which several have come down to us,
an4 have been found well worthy of publication. The most important are:—1. Encomium S. Dionysii Areopagitae. Editions : the Greek text, Florence, 1516, 8vo.; Paris, 1562, 8vo,; Graece et Latine, in the second volume of " Opera S. Dionysii Areop.," Antwerp, 1634, fol. The question whether, in composing this work, Methodius was guilty of plagiarism by stealing from the monk Hil-duinus, who wrote on the same subject, caused a literary feud, which is largely discussed in Fabri-cius, to whom we refer the reader. 2. Oratio in eos qui dicunt : Quid profuit Filius Dei Crucifioeus ? Graece et Latine, by Gretserus, in the. second volume of his work, De Orvce. 3. De Occursu Si-meonis et Annae in Templo, et de Deipara ; and 4. In Ramos Palmarum, two orations, Graece et La-tine, in Comb6fis's edition of the works of Methodius Patarensis, Paris, 1644, fol. 5. Encomium S. AgatJtae Virginis et Martyris^ a Latin version in Comb£nVs Bibl. Pair. ; the text, incomplete, with a Latin version, in Leo Allatius, Diatriba de Me-thodiis. 6. Oanones Poenitentiales, &c., published with a Latin version by Gentianus Herretus. 7. Constitutio de Us qui diverse Modo^ <$[&., ad fidem Christianam revertantur, Graece et Latine, with notes, by Jac. Goar in Eucholog. Graecor. 8. Tres versus lambici ad Theodorum et TJieoplianem graptos, tribus illis quos ad ipsum miserant Re-sponsorii, in Lambecii Commentarii; also ad Calcem Const. Manassae in the Paris edition. (Leo Allatius, Diatriba de Methodiis ; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. p. 273 ; Cave, Hist. Lit. p. 451, &c., ed. Geneva; Baronius, Annal. ad annum 842; Theophan. Contin. ii. 8, iii. 24, iv. 3, 6, 10 ; Simeon Metaphrasta, TheophU. c. 23, Michael et Theodora, c. 3; Georg. Monach. Michael et Theodora^ c. 1.)
3. Patriarch of constantinople in 1240, is probably the author of De Revelatione, which some attribute to Methodius Patarensis. [See No. 6.] The Greek text, with a Latin version, is contained in the first volume of the Graecia Orthodoasa, as well as in some of the Biblioth. Pair. He also wro^e Aenigmata^ in iambic tristichons, extant in MS. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. p. 275 ; Cave, p. 662, ed. Geneva.)
4. eubulius or eubulus. [No. 6.]
5. monachus, lived in Constantinople during the middle and latter part of the thirteenth century. About this time the Byzantine capital was much disturbed by the coincident election of Josephus and Arsenius ,to the patriarchal see of Constantinople, each of them being proclaimed by his partisans as the sole legitimate patriarch. On this occasion Methodius wrote a valuable treatise, entitled 2i>AAo7?) ffvvoiTTiK'n, Sylloga Compendiosa^ showing that orthodox people ought not to secede from their spiritual leaders even in case their predecessor had been illegally deposed. It was published by Leo Allatius in his Diatriba de Methodiis^ with a Latin translation. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. p. 275 ; Cave, Hist. Lit. p. 642, ed. Geneva.)
6. Surnamed patarensis, and sometimes, eubulus or eubulius, lived in the third, and died in the beginning of the fourth century of our era. He held successively the sees of Olympus and Patara in Lycia (whence Patarensis) and Tyras in Phoenicia. He Was a Christian; and Suidas says that.he died the death of a martyr, at Chalcis 'AyeiToA-iJs (one of the two Chaicis in
