Ștefan I – patriarh (886-893) și sfânt. Cel mai tânăr patriarh de Constantinopol din istorie
Stephen I - Patriarch (886-893) and saint. The youngest Patriarch of Constantinople in history

Summary/Abstract: Stephen I was the third son of Byzantine Emperor Basil I the Macedonian (867-886) and of Empress Eudokia Ingerina and brother of the future Emperor Leon VI the Wise (886-912). Since childhood, Stephen, at his father’s order, was castrated and then entrusted to the priests for cultural and spiritual education and trained for an ecclesiastic career. Some of the historians of the time write that he had been nominated even for the patriarchal chair from that moment. In 886, when his brother, Leon VI, was elected Emperor, he appointed Stephen to be sincel (synkelos) and priest of his former teacher, Patriarch Photios, who had ordained him, as historical sources indicate. Despite his youth, patriarch Stephen was popular and enjoyed even a true spiritual reputation. The life of Euthymios (Vita Euthymii) comments on the fact that: „even though he was young of age, he was fully prepared to understand piety and progress in virtue”. The life of Basil the Young describes the young patriarch Stephen as „a man who was outstanding in any kind of virtue”. Stephen died at a young age, before the crisis regarding the tetragamic quarrel of his brother, Emperor Leon VI. Later he was canonised as saint of Byzantine Orthodox Church.

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