CrucisSt. Proclus of Constantinople
St. Proclus of Constantinople was a churchman and celebrated preacher of the fifth century who had been a disciple and secretary of St. John Chrysostom, from whom he learned the art of sacred eloquence. He served as a bishop and, from about 434, as Archbishop of Constantinople, the imperial capital, guiding its Church with gentleness and wisdom in a turbulent doctrinal age.
He is remembered above all for a famous sermon preached about 429, in the presence of the patriarch Nestorius, in which he eloquently defended the title Theotokos, "God-bearer" or "Mother of God," for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nestorius had objected to this title, holding a division in Christ that would make Mary the mother only of the man Jesus; Proclus, by insisting that the one born of Mary is truly God the Word made flesh, helped prepare the Church's condemnation of Nestorianism at the Council of Ephesus in 431 and the affirmation of Mary's divine motherhood. A peacemaker who worked to heal divisions, he died about 446. He is venerated as a saint, his memory kept on 24 October.
Selected quotes
“The Virgin became the loom on which the garment of our salvation was woven, the seamless robe of the Incarnate Word.”
“He who is everywhere by nature was contained in a virgin's womb, that the boundless might draw near to the bound.”
“Heaven came down to earth that earth might be lifted to heaven; this is the wonder of the Word made flesh.”