Patriarch Michael

Patriarch Michael I (c. 1000 – 1059 AD), also known as Michael I Cerularius or Michael Keroularios, was a real-world archbishop of the church in Constantinople who was cited in H. P. Lovecraft's pseudo-historical "History of the Necronomicon" as having "suppressed and burnt" Theodorus Philetas' Greek translation of the Necronomicon in 1050 A.D., because it "impelled certain experimenters to terrible attempts."
The historical Michael was patriarch of Constantinople from 1043 to 1059, making him the most important figure in the Eastern church and a powerful figure in Byzantine politics. His conflict with Pope Leo IX over ritual, theology, and church hierarchy led to the Great Schism of 1054, which permanently separated Christianity into Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
After the death of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX in 1055, Michael came into conflict with his successor, Empress Theodora, whose gender Michael found objectionable in a ruler. After her short reign ended in 1056, Michael help persuade the new emperor, Michael VI, to abdicate in 1057 in favor of the rebellious general who became Emperor Isaac I. Michael also quarreled with Isaac, who brought charges of treason and heresy against the patriarch. Michael died on January 21, 1059, before he could be brought to trial.
==External Links ==
*Michael I Cerularius at Wikipedia
*Michael Cærularius at the Catholic Encyclopedia presents the Catholic view of the quarrel.
*The History of the Papal Pride That Led to the Great Schism at Orthodox Christianity provides the Orthodox perspective.
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