Ignatius was a son of emperor Michael I Rangabe (811- 813). He served briefly as a commander of a division of imperial guards, but after his father’s death he became a monk. As a defender of Christian icons, empress Theodora made Ignatius Constantinople’s new bishop, and he served from 847 to 858 and from 867 to 877. Ignatius founded three monasteries on the Princes’ Islands in the Sea of Marmara. In 870, he played a significant role in bringing Bulgaria into the Eastern Orthodox Church. Ignatius died in October 877.