One Atticus, an ordained presbyter who had soon became known as a rising man, had proved himself one of John Chrysostom's most bitter adversaries.

If not, as Palladius of Galatia asserts, the architect of the whole cabal, he certainly took a very leading part in carrying it into execution.

The organization of the Synod of the Oak owed much to his practical skill.

Pope Innocent I at Rome had ordered a synod to reinstate Chrysostom as bishop, but his envoys had been imprisoned.

Chrysostom’s successor, the aged Arsacius, had died on November 5, 405.

Four months of intrigue ended in the selection of Atticus as the new bishop of Constantinople.