Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century/Nomus, leading personage at Constantinople

Nomus, a leading personage at Constantinople in the latter years of Theodosius II., with whom he was all-powerful— τὰ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐν χερσὶν ἔχων πράγματα (Labbe, Concil. iv. 407). Nomus filled in succession all the highest offices in the state. In 443 he was "magister officiorum" (Cod. Theod. Nov. p. 14, 1); consul in 445; patrician in 449, the year of the infamous "Latrocinium." He was the confidential friend of Chrysaphius the eunuch and shared with him the government of the emperor and the empire. Through them Dioscorus of Alexandria and the Eutychian doctrines he supported were brought into favour at court. Through Nomus the feeble Theodosius was induced to publish a decree in 448 confining Theodoret to his own diocese. The interesting series of letters, to the principal men of the empire, in which Theodoret, while observing the mandate, protested against its arbitrary character, contains several addressed to Nomus. With the death of Theodosius and the accession of Marcian and Pulcheria, Nomus's power sensibly waned. He took, however, a leading position as a high state official at the council of Chalcedon (Labbe, iv. 77, 475, etc.), where a libel or petition against him was presented by a nephew of Cyril, Athanasius by name, a presbyter of Alexandria, accusing him of violence and extortion which had reduced Athanasius and his relatives to beggary and caused his brother to die of distress (ib. 407–410).

[E.V.]