Theodorus Balsamon
Balsamon, Theodorus
Died after 1195, presumably in Constantinople. Byzantine jurist. Patriarch of Antioch (elected between 1185 and 1191).
Balsamon was the author of 14 volumes of commentaries on the Nomocanon, intended to reconcile the contradictions between ecclesiastical law and the Basilica, as well as between individual church canons. The commentaries included many important documents that have not survived. Balsamon also wrote other juridical works, letters, and epigrams. He was an apologist for strong imperial power, a defender of special privileges for the patriarch of Constantinople, and a supporter of the position that the priesthood should be subordinate to the episcopate.
REFERENCES
Narbekov, V. Nomokanon konstantinopol’skogo patriarkha Fotiia s tolkovaniem Val’samona, vols. 1–2. Kazan, 1899.Stevens, G. P. De Theodoro Balsamone. Rome, 1969.