Savianos was a Videssian cleric who became the Patriarch of Videssos after his predecessor was removed and executed. He was a critic of former patriarch Pyrrhos, who had had him removed from his position as abbot after a falling out over theological matters. Savianos, like Gnatios, was a theological moderate, but was also loyal to Krispos, Avtokrator of the empire, who needed a less-offensive man than Pyrrhos to keep the religious turmoil under control.