Proclus Ordained for Cyzicus but Refused

When the bishop of Cyzicus died, Sisinnius ordained Proclus as bishop of that city. But while Proclus was getting ready to go there, the people of the city got ahead of him by electing an ascetic named Dalmatius. They did this in disregard of a law that forbade them to ordain a bishop without the approval of the bishop of Constantinople; but they claimed that this had been a special privilege granted to Atticus personally. So Proclus remained without the leadership of his own church, but he became famous for his sermons in the churches of Constantinople. We will, however, speak of him more fully in a fitting place. Sisinnius lived barely two full years after being made bishop, and was taken by death on the twenty-fourth of December, in the consulship of Hierius and Ardaburius. He was rightly well known for his self-control, his upright life, and his kindness to the poor. He was also unusually friendly and without guile in his character, and this made him rather unwilling to deal with business, so that men of active habits thought him lazy. [a]