Michael Choniates
Michael Choniates
Michael Choniates
Michael Choniates (or Acominatus) was born in 1140 and was the archbishop of Athens from the period 1182-1204. Michael Choniates was a man of letters and his works resulted as an invaluable source for the state of the times.
The archbishop worked for the education of his clergy and their spiritual development, while at the same time lightening the huge tax burden that they were obliged to pay.
He fled to Ceos after the siege of Athens by the Venetians. Michael Choniates went to great lengths to pressure the ruler of Epirus, Theodore Komnenos Doukas, to free Athens but his efforts failed. He died in 1220 at the Monastery of Agios Ioanni in Nicaea.
