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Birth:          ABT 1110 
Death:          AFT 1176 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andronikos_Kamateros
Andronikos Doukas Kamateros (Greek: ??d??????? ????a? ?aµat????)[1] was a 
Byzantine aristocrat, senior official under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and 
theologian, best known for his theological treatise Sacred Arsenal.
Family and career[edit]

Born probably around 1110,[2] Andronikos Kamateros was the son of Gregory 
Kamateros, a man of humble origin but well educated, who held several senior 
government posts under emperors Alexios I Komnenos and John II Komnenos and 
advanced to the high rank of sebastos, and of Irene Doukaina, probably a daughter of 
the protostrator Michael Doukas, whose sister Irene was wed to Alexios I.[3][4] 
Andronikos had several siblings, but with the exception of a brother Michael, who died 
young, and possibly another brother named Theodore, on whose death John Tzetzes 
composed an epitaph, they are mostly unknown.[5] The pansebastos sebastos and 
logothetes tou dromou John Doukas Kamateros was probably also his brother,[6] 
rather than his son, as Polemis regards him.[7] With Andronikos and John, the 
Kamateros family reached the peak of its influence.[8]

His relationship to the ruling Komnenian dynasty—from his mother's side, Andronikos 
was second cousin to Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–80)[9]—ensured his rise to 
prominence. Andronikos was awarded the high rank of sebastos, and by the mid-
1150s, Andronikos held the relatively senior post of epi ton deeseon, in charge of 
petitions. He then advanced to the post of eparchos of Constantinople (1157–61) and 
finally to megas droungarios tes viglas (1166–76),[6][10][11] two of the highest judicial 
offices in the Empire.[12] In 1161, he participated in an embassy that went to the 
Principality of Antioch to escort Manuel I's second wife, Maria of Antioch, to 
Constantinople.[13] A skilled theologian,[7] he played a prominent role in Manuel's 
dealings with the Church; not only did he edit Manuel's theological discussions as part 
of his Sacred Arsenal (see below), but in 1173 Manuel entrusted him with the 
enforcement of an imperial decree regarding absentee bishops, and elsewhere is seen 
introducing the abbot of the Monastery of Patmos to Manuel.[14] The time of his death 
is unknown, but was probably around 1180.[2]

Andronikos Kamateros was married and had several children, of whom Basil also rose 
to high office. Of his two known daughters, Theodora married the megas doux Michael 
Stryphnos, while Euphrosyne married the future Alexios III Angelos (r. 1195–1203).[8]
[15]

Writings[edit]

Andronikos Kamateros was well educated and had relations with most of the prominent 
literati of his day: poems were dedicated to him by Theodore Prodromos and Gregory 
Antiochos, and he corresponded with George Tornikes, Euthymios Malakes, Theodore 
Balsamon, and John Tzetzes, with whom he appears to have been "on intimate terms" 
(Polemis).[16]

Kamateros wrote an epigram on the procession of the Holy Spirit,[7] but is best 
remembered for his Sacred Arsenal (?e?? ?p??????, Hiera Hoplotheke), an "extensive 
dogmatic and theological exposition on various heresies", modelled on the Dogmatic 
Panoply of Euthymios Zigabenos but expanded to include tracts against the teachings 
of the Roman Catholic Church and the Armenian Church. The work was commissioned 
by Emperor Manuel, and its two parts mainly consist of what Kamateros claims to be 
verbatim transcripts of theological disputations held by Manuel I with Catholic and 
Armenian envoys at Constantinople.[7][17] Based on this information, the composition 
of the work can be dated to the period 1172–74.[18] The Sacred Arsenal quickly 
acquired popularity as the "most important book that an Orthodox theologian could 
read in order to face the Roman Church" (Bucossi), and was held in high esteem for 
this purpose up to the 15th century.[19] Following the Council of Lyon in 1274, the 
pro-Unionist Patriarch John XI Bekkos composed a refutation of its theological 
arguments,[2] but nevertheless praised its language and style.[20]

The work survives in two manuscripts, the 13th-century Monacensis graecus 229, now 
in Munich, and the 14th-century Venetus Marcianus graecus 158 in the Marcian 
Library, Venice, which belonged to Cardinal Bessarion. At least eight other 
manuscripts contain parts of the first half.[21] A full critical edition of the work has not 
yet been published; the first part, against the Catholic Church, was published by 
Alessandra Bucossi as Andronicus Camaterus. Sacrum Armamentarium, Pars prima 
(Corpus Christianorum Series Graeca 75) Brepols, Turnhout 2014. ISBN 978-2-503-
54410-6.[22]

Parents
KAMETEROS Gregorios (ABT 1080 - AFT 1132)
DOUKAINA Eirene (ABT 1080 - )

Siblings
DOUKAS Andronikos Kamateros (ABT 1110 - AFT 1176)

Marriage To ----- ----- ()
    m.  

Notes


Children by ----- ----- 
DOUKAINA Euphrosyne Kamatera (ABT 1155 - 1211)

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