Pulcheria
Elder sister of the emperor Theodosius II, who governed in his youth under a vow of virginity. After his death she married Marcian, who became emperor at her suggestion, and with him brought about the Council of Chalcedon.
Sozomen, who wrote in her lifetime, says that Pulcheria was not yet fifteen when she took charge of the government for her younger brother Theodosius II, and that she dedicated her virginity to God and led her sisters to do the same (Sozomen, Church History 9.1). According to Evagrius it was at her suggestion that Marcian was made emperor, and she married him while remaining a virgin (Evagrius, Ecclesiastical History 2.1).
Leo I wrote to her as well as to the emperor. One letter treats the order to hold a council as hers (Leo, Letters 95.1), and after the council he asked her help against the canon that raised the see of Constantinople (Leo, Letters 105). At the Council of Chalcedon the bishops acclaimed her beside Marcian as orthodox (Council of Chalcedon session 6).
In the timeline
- October AD 451, firm dateThe Council of Chalcedon
A council called by the emperor Marcian confesses Christ as one person in two natures, divine and human, and ranks Constantinople next after Rome. The Greek and Latin churches receive it; the Coptic, Syriac Orthodox, Armenian and Ethiopian churches do not.
Primary sources
Church History
- Sozomen, Church History 9.1newadvent.org
Letters
- Leo, Letters 95.1newadvent.org
- Leo, Letters 105newadvent.org