Editing Nectarius of Constantinople (section)

== His unexpected appointment ==
The [[Roman emperor]] [[Theodosius I]] asked the Bishops at the Council to suggest new candidates from whom he could pick the new bishop. The [[list of patriarchs of Antioch|Bishop of Antioch]] put Nectarius' name at the bottom of his list. After reading the lists, the emperor declared Nectarius to be his choice. This caused some amazement among the Fathers who wanted to know who and what this Nectarius was. He was still only a [[catechumen]]. There was much astonishment at the emperor's unexpected choice, but the people of Constantinople were delighted at the news as was the whole council.{{sfn|Sinclair|1911}}

Nectarius was duly baptized and his clothes were changed for the [[robe]]s of a Bishop of the Imperial City and became at once president of the First Council of Constantinople.{{sfn|Sinclair|1911}}

Nectarius ruled the church for upwards of 16 years and is thought of as having been a good [[prelate]]. His name heads the 150 signatures to the canons of the First Council of Constantinople. Given the personal favor which the emperor bore to Nectarius, the 3rd canon declared that the Bishop of Constantinople shall hold the first rank after the bishop of Rome because Constantinople is the new Rome.<ref>William Smith (1842), [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DN%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dnectarius-bio-1 ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology''], London, [[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]].</ref>