Nectarius Chosen Bishop of Constantinople

At this time a certain man of Tarsus in Cilicia, of the illustrious rank of senator, was living at Constantinople. As he was about to return to his own country, he called on Diodorus, bishop of Tarsus, to ask whether he had any letters to send by him. Diodorus was wholly intent on the ordination, the business that then held everyone’s attention. As soon as he saw Nectarius he thought him worthy of the bishopric, and at once decided this in his own mind, as he considered the man’s venerable age, his appearance so fitting for a priest, and the gentleness of his manners. He took him, as though on some other business, to the bishop of Antioch, and asked him to use his influence to bring about this election. The bishop of Antioch laughed at the request, for the names of the most eminent men had already been put forward for consideration. Still, he called Nectarius to him and asked him to stay with him for a little while. Some time later the emperor ordered the priests to draw up a list of the names of those they thought worthy of the ordination, keeping for himself the right to choose any one of the names submitted to him. All the bishops obeyed this order. Among the others, the bishop of Antioch wrote down the names of those he proposed as candidates for the bishopric, and at the end of his list, out of regard for Diodorus, he added the name of Nectarius. The emperor read the list of names and stopped at the name of Nectarius at the end of the document. He placed his finger on it and seemed lost in thought for some time. Then he ran it up to the beginning, went through the whole list again, and chose Nectarius. [a]

This choice caused great astonishment, and all the people were eager to find out who Nectarius was, what his way of life had been, and where he was born. When they heard that he had not been initiated, their amazement at the emperor’s decision grew still greater. I believe that Diodorus himself did not know that Nectarius had not been baptized; had he known it, he would not have dared to give his vote for the priesthood to someone uninitiated. It seems reasonable to suppose that, seeing that Nectarius was of advanced age, he took it for granted that he had been initiated long before. But these things did not happen without God’s hand in them. For when the emperor was told that Nectarius had not been initiated, he held to his opinion, although many priests opposed him. When at last consent had been given to the imperial order, Nectarius was initiated, and while he was still clothed in the robes of his initiation he was proclaimed bishop of Constantinople by the unanimous voice of the synod. Many have guessed that the emperor was led to make this choice by a divine revelation. I will not decide whether this guess is true or false. But when I reflect on the extraordinary circumstances of this ordination, I am convinced that these events did not come about without divine power, and that God led this mild, virtuous, and excellent man into the priesthood. These are the details I have been able to learn about the ordination of Nectarius.