Nikephoros 2 was born in Constantinople during the reign of the emperor Constantine V (Konstantinos 7) Kopronymos (741-775) (probably in 758, see below); his parents were Theodoros 176 and Eudokia 5, both of distinguished family (πατερὲς δὲ αὐτῷ ἐξ εὐπατρίδων καὶ περιωνύμων, Θεόδωρος καὶ Εὐδοκία); he grew up in Constantinople, receiving a good education and, following his father's example, was a believer in the veneration of icons; he secured a post among the imperial notaries (εἰς τοὺς ὑπογραφεῖς ὑποτάττεται): Synax. Eccl. Const. 723-726 (Synax. Eccl. Const. 724 κατατάττεται).

This account resembles that in the Life of Nikephoros by Ignatios; Nikephoros was born in Constantinople, the son of Theodoros 176 and Eudokia 5: Ignatius, Vita Niceph., p. 142 (Θεοδώρῳ γὰρ Εὐδοκία πρὸς γαμικὴν συνάφειαν ὁμιλήσασα τὸν ἀληθῶς εὐδόκιμον καὶ θεοδώρητον Νικηφόρον ἐβλάστησε). He continued his education (ἐγκύκλιος παιδεία), living with his mother after the death of his father (αὐτὴ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ συνοίκου μακαρίαν τελείωσιν ἐφ' ἱκανὸν χρόνον τῷ παιδὶ συμβιώσασα ἄρτι τότε τῆς ἐγκυκλίου παιδείας ἐφαπτομένῳ καὶ τὴν διὰ χειρῶν καὶ μέλανος τέχνην πονουμένῳ); he became proficient at writing, and was selected as asekretis (ᾑρέθη γὰρ ὑπογραφεὺς τοῖς τῶν κρατούντων μυστηρίοις ὑπηρετούμενος, οὕτω γὰρ παρὰ τῇ Αὐσονίδι διαλέκτῳ τὸ Ἀσηκρήτης ὄνομα, ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν μυστηρίων μεθερμηνεύεσθαι βούλεται): Ignatius, Vita Niceph., p. 144.

He was a basilikos asekretis and was present at the Second Council of Nikaia (the Seventh Ecumenical Council) in 787; at the second session, on 26 September, he read out a Greek translation of the letter from the bishop of Rome, Hadrian I (Hadrianos 1), to the emperors Constantine VI (Konstantinos 8) and Eirene 1: Mansi XII 1055 (καὶ ἀνέγνω Νικηφόρος ὁ εὐκλεέστατος βασιλικὸς ἀσηκρῆτις), cf. Theoph. AM 6298 (Νικηφόρος ... ἀπὸ ἀσηκρητῶν), Nic., Chron., p. 120, 78 (see below). He was an imperial asekretis (Νικηφόρος ὁ τοῖς βασιλικοῖς τηνικαῦτα μυστηρίοις ὑπηρετούμενος); he was taken by Tarasios 1 to the Council of Nikaia, among other officials known for their piety and their learning (τινας τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐπ' εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ λογικαῖς ἐμπρέποντας χάρισιν); a man who lived a holy life and was distinguished for his virtues and his learning, he later succeeded Tarasios 1 as patriarch of Constantinople: Vita Tarasii 28, lines 18-24.

An asekretis, Nikephoros 2 became a monk: Nic., Chron., p. 120, 78 (Νικηφόρος ἀσηκρήτης μοναχὸς γεγονώς). He retired from the world and withdrew from Constantinople to the Propontis where he pursued a life of hardship, until on the death of Tarasios 1 he was compelled by the emperor Nikephoros 8 to become patriarch of Constantinople: Synax. Eccl. Const. 723-726.

In 806 he succeeded Tarasios 1 as patriarch of Constantinople and held office for nine years (so Nicephorus; Theophanes gives eight): Nic., Chron. 78, Theoph. AM 6177 (καὶ Νικηφόρον η'). He was then expelled by the emperor Leo V (Leo 15): Nic., Chron. 78. His dates were 806 to 815. His successor was Theodotos 2. A former asekretis (ἀπὸ ἀσηκρητῶν), he was chosen to succeed Tarasios 1 as patriarch of Constantinople and was consecrated on Easter Sunday, 12 April 806 (indiction fourteen), supported by all the people, the clergy and the emperors, but opposed by the Stoudite monks Platon 1 and Theodoros 15: Theoph. AM 6298, Zon. XV 14. 14 (ἀσηκρῆτις, chosen to succeed Tarasios 1), Vita S. Theophylacti 10 (successor of Tarasios 1).

Like Tarasios 1, he was a layman who was appointed patriarch: Photius, Ep. 290, lines 155ff., 300ff. On the date, see also Ignatius, Vita Niceph. (BHG 1335), p. 157, Catal. Patr., 291. 19-21 (consecrated patriarch in 806 by Thomas, Leo and Nikolaos 62). In 807 he named Hilarion 1 as the new hegoumenos of the monastery of Dalmatos: Synax. Eccl. Const. 731/732, 58-733/734, 23. Later Theodoros 15, Platon 1 and Ioseph 3 refused to communicate with him over the affair of Ioseph 2 and the controversial coronation of the emperor Constantine VI (Konstantinos 8) and Theodote 1: Theoph. AM 6301 (in 808/809; he perhaps attended and may have presided over the council which met in January 809 and exiled Theodoros 15 and the others and all the monks of the monastery of Stoudios from Constantinople). He had been forced by the emperor Nikephoros 8 to recall Ioseph 2 and reinstate him in the priesthood, and aroused the opposition thereby of Theodoros 15 (Theodore the Stoudite) and others: Vita B Theod. Stud. 265B-268C.

According to the Vita B of Theodoros, Nikephoros 2 and Theodoros 15 were both judged to have acted correctly, though in different ways, and the precedent is cited of the actions of Theodoros 15 and Tarasios 1 over the original issue, the second marriage of Constantine VI (Konstantinos 8), that gave rise to the problem: Vita B Theod. Stud. 268B-269A. As patriarch in 811 Nikephoros 2 tried to persuade the new emperor Staurakios 2 to recompense those who had suffered under his father (Nikephoros 8); later Nikephoros 2 joined the conspiracy to proclaim Michael 7 as emperor in place of Staurakios 2, obtaining from Michael 7 a signed statement of faith and a guarantee not to molest Christians or harm members of the clergy and monks: Theoph. AM 6303.

He crowned Michael 7 as emperor at the pulpit of Hagia Sophia on 2 October 811 (at the fourth hour); on his own accession in 806 he had been prevented from sending his synodical letter to the bishop of Rome by the emperor Nikephoros I (Nikephoros 8), but under Michael 7 he sent it, to pope Leo III (Leo 11); at his suggestion, the emperor ordered the death penalty for Paulicians and for the Athinganoi of Phrygia and Lycaonia, but later Michael 7 was persuaded to rescind the order (see also Leo 15): Theoph. AM 6304, cf. Zon. XV 17. 1 (coronation of Michael 7). He crowned the emperor's son Theophylaktos 9: Zon. XV 17. 9.

He was reconciled with Theodoros 15 after the latter's return from exile under Michael I (Michael 7): Vita B Theod. Stud. 273A (τόν τε ἁγιώτατον πατριάρχην). In 811 he apologised to Platon 1 for the persecution arising from the Moechian schism and laid the blame on the emperor, Nikephoros 8: Theod. Stud., Laud. Plat. VI 40 (844A-B). Subsequently he was present at the death-bed of Platon 1, perhaps on 4 April 814, or shortly before: Theod. Stud., Laud. Plat. VII 42 (845B).

Nikephoros (ὁ μὲν πατριάρχης) was one of those consulted by Michael 7 on 1 November 812, on the subject of peace with the Bulgars; together with the bishops of Nikaia and Kyzikos (Anonymus 23 and Anonymus 24) he favoured acceptance of the terms proposed by Krum 1, but the opposite opinion, supported by Theodoros 15 (Theodore the Stoudite) prevailed: Theoph. AM 6305, Zon. XV 17. 20-22. However, according to the story in Scylitzes, Nikephoros 2 the patriarch joined with the magistros Theoktistos 2 in strongly rejecting the proposed return of refugees as an unworthy way of obtaining peace; they prevailed over the reluctant emperor: Scyl., p. 12. On this, cf. Rochow, Theophanes, p. 312.

About the same time (late 812/early 813) Nikephoros 2 with the emperor Michael 7 (Μιχαήλ, ὁ εὐσεβὴς βασιλεύς, καὶ Νικηφόρος, ὁ ἁγιώτατος πατριάρχης) welcomed to Constantinople Christian fugitives, monks and laymen, fleeing from Syria and Palestine where law and order had broken down (cf. al-Amin 1): Theoph. AM 6305. In 813 he consecrated Niketas 43 as hegoumenos of the monastery of Medikion: Vita Nicetae Medicii (AASS, April I) 24 (τοῦ ἐν Ἁγίοις Νικηφόρου, τοῦ τότε τὸν πατριαρχικὸν Κωνσταντινουπόλεως κατέσχοντος θρόνον).

Later in 813, after the great defeat by the Bulgars of 22 June, Nikephoros 2 was one of the emperor's advisers in Constantinople who, according to the Scriptor Incertus, proposed rallying the imperial forces: Scriptor Incertus 339-340. However, according to Theophanes, Nikephoros 2 advised the emperor Michael 7 to abdicate in favour of another candidate, as a means of saving himself and his family; on 12 July, after receiving from Leo 15 a declaration of faith, Nikephoros 2 crowned Leo 15 emperor in the pulpit of Hagia Sophia: Theoph. AM 6305 (στεφθεὶς ὑπὸ Νικηφόρου πατριάρχου ἐν τῷ ἄμβωνι τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας). He crowned Leo 15 after receiving a declaration of the faith: Scriptor Incertus 340-341, Leo Gramm. 207, 208, Pseudo-Sym. 604, Georg. Mon. Cont. 763. Nikephoros 2 submitted a statement of faith for his signature to Leo 15 but the emperor put off signing and was crowned by Nikephoros 2 first: Genesius I 14, 22. Later claimed that he suspected that Leo 15 would trouble the Church because at the coronation he pricked his hand on the diadem as he put it on Leo's head: Zon. XV 19. 34, and see Rochow, Theophanes, pp. 319-320.

In December 814 Nikephoros 2 was asked by the emperor Leo 15 to explain his stance on the subject of the veneration of icons; he defended himself and sent representatives, bishops and hegoumenoi, to explain the iconophile position against the findings of the commission led by Antonios 3 and Ioannes 5; he then held all-night prayers to change the emperor's mind; later he explained to a gathering of clergy and monks at the patriarchal palace the texts which had been assembled by the iconoclasts in favour of their position and he encouraged them to stand firm: Scriptor Incertus 352-357, cf. Vita S. Theophylacti 12 (convened a group of bishops to protest to the emperor).

Before Christmas 814 he secured a statement from the emperor Leo V (Leo 15) that he respected the Church's teachings and would not introduce changes, but by Epiphany it became clear that the emperor had not changed his mind; soon afterwards Nikephoros 2 was told that changes must be made; he then fell gravely ill but at the beginning of Lent (mid-February) 815 there were demonstrations against Nikephoros 2 and the emperor had him removed on a litter and conveyed over the sea to Chrysopolis: Scriptor Incertus 355-359. According to Theosteriktos, in the Life of Niketas, he held an all-night vigil in Hagia Sophia with many monks and bishops and then visited the emperor for discussions about the veneration of icons: Vita Nicetae Medicii 32-33. Later the emperor urged him to resign and after visiting Hagia Sophia Nikephoros was taken to the Akropolis, put on a small boat and carried across to an estate of his (ἕν τῶν αὐτοῦ μετοχίων) where he lived in piety until his death: Vita Nicetae Medicii 36.

Exiled by Leo V (Leo 15) in 815 (the second year of Leo 15's reign) for refusing to abandon the veneration of icons, he was replaced by Theodotos 2: Leo Gramm. 208, 209, Georg. Mon. Cont. 763-764, 766-768, Genesius I 14, Vita S. Theophylacti 13, Vita Euthym. Sard. 13-17, Vita Nic. Stud. 881A, Vita Method. 1248A, Sabas, Vita Ioannicii 17, Petrus, Vita Ioannicii 18 (deposed and exiled for opposing the iconoclasts), Synax. Eccl. Const. 577-578, 723-726 (for resisting iconoclasm under Leo 15 he was deposed and imprisoned), Sabas, Acta S. Macarii 10, p. 153, line 21 (τὸν ἀρχιερέα τοῦ θρόνου). He resisted pressure from Leo V (Leo 15) to abandon the veneration of icons and was exiled after nine years as patriarch (ἀποστολικῶς ιθύναντι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν) to a monastery on the right bank of the Straits (τὸ Στενόν), where he lived for seventeen years until his death: Nicetas, Vita Ignatii 492D-493A.

He preferred to go into exile rather than accept the new iconoclast policy of Leo 15, and was replaced by Theodotos 2; he distrusted Leo 15 from the time when Leo 15 had refused to issue a statement of faith until the time arrived for his coronation: Theoph. Cont. I 17 (pp. 28-29), Zon. XV 19. 33. He was patriarch for nine years and was then expelled by the emperor Leo the Armenian (Leo 15): Nic., Chron., p. 120, 78. While sailing into exile he supposedly caught sight of Theophanes 18 and foretold his forthcoming death as a Confessor: Theoph. Cont. I 18 (pp. 29-30), Zon. XV 19. 36-39 (exiled to Prokonnesos), Genesius I 14. He was banished from Constantinople by the emperor Leo 15 and was exiled from his books; he nearly died of hunger in exile: Photius, Ep. 98 (I 133ff. Laourdas-Westerink). He resisted pressure from Leo 15 to condemn the veneration of icons and was sent into exile: Oratio de exilio I 3-5 (PL 119, 160-161).

He was alive in 820 and survived the emperor Leo 15, on whose reign, apart from his iconoclasm, he passed a favourable judgement: Theoph. Cont. I 19 (p. 30), Genesius I 16. Early in the reign of Michael II (Michael 10) he wrote to demand that the new emperor restore the faith and allow the veneration of icons again, but without success: Theoph. Cont. II 8 (p. 47), Zon. XV 22. 16-17. Possibly in 821 (soon after the accession of Michael 10) he encountered Theodoros 15 and Nikolaos 26 at Chalcedon: Vita Nic. Stud. 889C-892A. He also met and spent some time with the exiled hegoumenos of the monastery of Pelekete, Makarios 9: Acta S. Macarii 12, p. 156, lines 18-20 (Νικηφόρῳ τῷ θεοφόρῳ ἀρχιερεῖ συνομολογήσαντι). With other metropolitan bishops he approached the emperor to try and end the division in the Church but with no success (see Anonymus 275): Vita Nic. Stud. 892A-B. The information in the Life of Ignatios (see above) suggests that he died in 832, but the date seems to have been 828 (see below, and cf. ODB, p. 1477). A passage in the Life of Ignatios (Nicetas, Vita Ignatii 500D: Νικήφορος ἔτι τῷ βίῳ περιὼν ὁ μέγας), refers to events after 843 and clearly suggests that he was still alive when Methodios 1 was patriarch; this is probably a mistake by the author of the Vita; if Nikephoros 2 were still alive he would presumably have been the one to be restored to the patriarchate. He died aged seventy, after nine years as patriarch (806-815) and thirteen years in exile (815-828); he was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles: Synax. Eccl. Const. 723-726. If these figures are correct, he was born in 758. Another source claims that he died after fourteen years in exile and was buried at the Church of St Theodoros in the monastery which he himself had founded (cf. also below): Oratio de exilio I 8 (PG 100, 162).

He was the addressee of four letters from Theodoros 15 (Theodore the Stoudite): Theod. Stud., Epp. 25, 30, 286, 423 (all addressed Νικηφόρῳ τῷ ἁγιωτάτῳ πατριάρχῃ or similar). He is also mentioned in numerous other letters of Theodoros 15 and in one of his sermons: Theod. Stud., Epp. 22, 23, 24, 26, 28, 32, 43, 53, 56, 71, 268, 269, 333, 545, 553, 555, Catech. Magna 74 (Nova Patrum Bibliotheca 9.2, p. 208).

Further details of his life are recorded in the Lives of Theodoros 15. He had succeeded Tarasios 1 as patriarch and was forced by the emperor Nikephoros 8 to reinstate Ioseph 2: Vita A Theod. Stud., 156CD (ἐπιτίθεται βιαίως τῷ πατριάρχῃ. Νικηφόρος δ' ἦν οὗτος ὁ τοῦ Ταρασίου διάδοχος), 157CD, 160A, 161A, Vita B Theod. Stud., 265D (τῷ ἱερόφρονι ... πατριάρχῃ), 268C (ᾠκονόμησεν ὁ μακάριος Νικηφόρος, μὴ βουλόμενος, ἀλλὰ βιασθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἄνακτος), 269A (ὁ τῆς νίκης ἐπώνυμος ἱεροθέτης), Vita C Theod. Stud. §29, pp. 274-277. Later he was reconciled with Theodoros 15: Vita A Theod. Stud., 165AB, Vita B Theod. Stud., 273A (cited above), Vita C Theod. Stud. §35, p. 279. He refused to obey Leo 15 and to condemn the veneration of icons: Vita A Theod. Stud., 172BC (τῷ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ... ἀρχιποιμένι), 184BD, Vita B Theod. Stud., 280A (τοῦ γενναίου ἱεροφάντορος, τὸν ἅγιον πατριάρχην), 284BD, Vita C Theod. Stud., 279. He was then sent into exile to a monastery which he had himself founded in Asia in mountains by the sea: Vita A Theod. Stud., 185A, Vita B Theod. Stud., 285A (τοῦ ἀοιδίμου πατριάρχου τοῦ ἱεραρχικοῦ θρόνου), Vita C Theod. Stud. §§38-41, pp. 281-283. He was living in a monastery by the sea at Chalcedon in 821, where he received a visit from Theodoros 15 after the lifting of restrictions on the latter's exile: Vita A Theod. Stud., 220AB, Vita B Theod. Stud., 316C (τὸν ἀοίδιμον πατριάρχην Νικηφόρον), Vita C Theod. Stud. §§70-74, pp. 298-300. He supported the despatch of a delegation of exiles to the emperor Michael II (Michael 10) to try to regain their sees: Vita A Theod. Stud., 221AD, cf. Vita B Theod. Stud., 317A (he was not a member of the actual delegation - ἄτερ τοῦ θεολήπτου πατριάρχου), Vita C Theod. Stud. §78, p. 303. He markedly showed respect for Theodoros 15: Vita A Theod. Stud., 224A, Vita B Theod. Stud., 320BD (τὸν ἁγιώτατον πατριάρχην, ὁ τὸν ἀρχιερατικὸν ταῖς νικηφόροις ἀρεταῖς κατακοσμήσας θῶκον).

A physical description of him in the Synaxarium says that he resembled Cyril of Alexandria; he was grey, had long straight hair, but did not have a projecting nose or thick lips: Synax. Eccl. Const. 726. A monastery was named after him; cf. Photius, Ep. 159 (ii 14 lAOURDAS-wESTERINK) (addressed Νικολάῳ ἡγουμένῳ μονῆς τοῦ ἁγίου Νικηφόρου) (and see Nikolaos 75).

He was first buried at the Church of St Theodoros, at the monastery which he had founded, but after nineteen years, after the restoration of Orthodoxy, his translation to Constantinople was proposed by Methodios 1 and approved by the empress Theodora 2; his body was conveyed by sea to Constantinople and taken first to the Great Church (Hagia Sophia) and then to the Holy Apostles, where it was buried, on 13 March: Oratio de exilio II 10-16 (PG 100, 163-165). He was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople where in the following century the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus used to light candles at the tombs of Methodios 1 and Nikephoros 2: Const. Porph., De Cer. I 10 (Reiske, 77).

He is one of the patriarchs of Constantinople acclaimed as a supporter of icons in the Synodikon of Orthodoxy: Gouillard, "Synodikon", p. 51, line 110, p. 53, lines 114-115; p. 103, line 881.

See ODB III, p. 1477, with references, and for his writings, see Beck, Kirche, pp. 490ff. and Hunger, Literatur, pp. 344-347. Cf. also Rochow, Theophanes, pp. 284-285.

For further references, see Synax. Eccl. Const. 533, 11-534, 18 (13 March); 373, 12ff.; 444, 18ff.; 519, 16-520, 15; Menol. Bas. 484D-485B (2 June); Typicon Mateos 302 (2 June); 248 (13 March).

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