Theodotus I of Constantinople

Theodotus I of Constantinople, born in Nakoleia, was the son of the patrician Michael Melissenos and the nephew of Eudokia, the last wife of Emperor Constantine V. His early life saw him rise within the court bureaucracy, eventually becoming a confidant to Emperor Michael I Rangabe. By the time of Michael's deposition in 813, Theodotus had attained the rank of spatharokandidatos, though he was described by the Scriptor Incertus as meek and uneducated.

On 1 April 815, Theodotus was appointed as the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople following the forced resignation of Patriarch Nicephorus I by Leo V the Armenian. His tenure marked a significant shift in the Church's stance on icon veneration, as he presided over a council that overturned the Second Council of Nicaea, reinstating the ban on icons and initiating the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm.

During this tumultuous period, Theodotus I was implicated in the harsh treatment of iconodule abbots, reportedly torturing them by starvation to compel their compliance with his ecclesiastical policies. His actions were largely influenced by other clerics, including future Patriarchs Antony I and John VII of Constantinople.

Theodotus's influence waned after the assassination of Leo V in December 820, and he disappears from historical records following the accession of Michael II. His legacy remains intertwined with the contentious debates over iconoclasm that shaped Byzantine religious life.