Greek language

Michael I of Constantinople (Cerularius or Keroularios; Greek: Μιχαὴλ Κηρουλάριος, romanized: Mikhaḗl Keroulários; c. 1000 – 21 January 1059) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1043 to 1059. His disputes with Pope Leo IX over church practices in the 11th century played a role in the events that led to the Great Schism in 1054.

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (Greek: Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, romanized: Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople and primus inter pares (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as the representative and spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide. The term ecumenical in the title is a historical reference to the Ecumene, a Greek designation for the civilised world, i.e. the Roman Empire, and it stems from Canon 28 of the Council of Chalcedon.

The patriarch's see, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history. The ecumenical patriarchs in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a major role in the affairs of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as in the politics of the Orthodox world, and in spreading Christianity among the Slavs. Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and the Eastern Orthodox doctrine, the patriarchs are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, charitable work, and the defense of Orthodox Christian traditions.

Constantine IX Monomachos (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, romanized: Kōnstantīnos Monomachos; c. 980/c. 1000– 11 January 1055) reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita chose him as a husband and co-emperor in 1042, although he had been exiled for conspiring against her previous husband, Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian. The couple shared the throne with Zoë's sister Theodora Porphyrogenita. Zoë died in 1050, and Constantine continued his collaboration with Theodora until his own death five years later.

Constantine's reign was marked by prodigality, enjoying an abundant imperial treasury following the conquests of his predecessors and the era of economic expansion that the Empire experienced in the first half of the 11th century. While Zoe was deprived of access to this treasure by Romanus III and then Michael IV, her third husband ensured that she could enjoy it as much as she wanted. He also distributed a large number of gifts, both in monetary forms and through donations of land or tax exemptions, especially for the religious world. He made all his decisions with the knowledge and approval of Zoe and Theodora, whether it was an act or an appearance. They were by his side in all ceremonies and their names were included along with his in public praises.

Leo of Ohrid (Greek: Λέων Άχρίδος; died 1056) was a leading 11th-century Byzantine churchman as Archbishop of Ohrid (1037–1056) and advocate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople's views in the theological disputes with the See of Rome, which culminated in the East–West Schism of 1054.

Metropolitan Kallistos (born Timothy Richard Ware, 11 September 1934 – 24 August 2022) was an English bishop and theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church. From 1982, he held the titular bishopric of Diokleia in Phrygia (Greek: Διόκλεια Φρυγίας), later made a titular metropolitan bishopric in 2007, under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He was one of the best-known modern Eastern Orthodox hierarchs and theologians. From 1966 to 2001, he was Spalding Lecturer of Eastern Orthodox Studies at the University of Oxford.

A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: Εὐαγγέλιον, Evangélion) is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the roots of the Christian faith. The term is also used for a liturgical book, also called the Evangeliary, from which are read the portions of the Gospels used in the Mass and other services, arranged according to the order of the liturgical calendar.

Liturgical use in churches of a distinct Gospel book remains normal, often compulsory, in Eastern Christianity, and very common in Roman Catholicism and some parts of Anglicanism and Lutheranism.

In ecclesiastical architecture, a ciborium (Greek: κιβώριον; lit. 'ciborion') is a canopy or covering supported by columns, freestanding in the sanctuary, that stands over and covers the altar in a church. It may also be known by the more general term of baldachin, though ciborium is often considered more correct for examples in churches. A baldachin (originally an exotic type of silk from Baghdad) should have a textile covering, or, as at Saint Peter’s in Rome, imitate one. There are exceptions; Bernini's structure in Saint Peter's, Rome is always called the baldachin.

Early ciboria had curtains hanging from rods between the columns, so that the altar could be concealed from the congregation at points in the liturgy. Smaller examples may cover other objects in a church. In a very large church, a ciborium is an effective way of visually highlighting the altar, and emphasizing its importance. The altar and ciborium are often set upon a dais to raise it above the floor of the sanctuary.

Ancient Aethiopia, (Greek: Αἰθιοπία, romanized: Aithiopía) first appears as a geographical term in classical documents in reference to the skin color of the inhabitants of the upper Nile in northern Sudan along with areas south of the Sahara and certain parts of Asia. Its earliest mention is in the works of Homer: twice in the Iliad, and three times in the Odyssey. The Greek historian Herodotus uses the appellation to refer to regions south of Egypt when describing "Aethiopians," most commonly Nubia. Likewise, the Hebrew term Cushi is derived from Kushite. Despite this, the Byzantine Greeks also referred to the Aksumites as Ethiopians and Negus Ezana, conqueror of Meroë took on the title of "king of Ethiopia" prior to the rise of the medieval Ethiopian Empire. The ancient Libyans (North African Berbers) were also called White Aethiopians by contemporary Greek sources. By the modern period the term Aethiopian Sea was used to refer to the southern Atlantic ocean, particularly the area adjacent to West Africa.

Inhabitants of Herodotus' India were sometimes named Ethiopians for their dark skin by the Greeks and Romans. In book 3 (3.89-97) however, Herodotus himself distinguishes the people of India. "All the tribes which I have mentioned live together like the brute beasts: they have also all the same tint of skin, which approaches that of the Ethiopians."

Artaphernes (Greek: Ἀρταφέρνης, Old Persian: Artafarna, from Median Rtafarnah) was a brother of the Achaemenid king Darius I and held power circa 513–492 BC. He was appointed satrap of Lydia, which he governed from its capital of Sardis. As satrap of Lydia he had to deal with the Greeks, and played an important role in both the Siege of Naxos and in suppressing the Ionian Revolt.

The South Euboean Gulf (Greek: Νότιος Ευβοϊκός Κόλπος, Notios Evvoïkos Kolpos) is a gulf in Central Greece, between the island of Euboea and the Greek mainland (Boeotia and Attica). With a total length of approximately 50 km and a width of 10 to 20 km, it stretches nearly diagonally from northwest to southeast, from the Euripus Strait, which connects it to the North Euboean Gulf, to the Petalies Gulf near Agia Marina in the south.