Anthimus III ( el, Άνθιμος Γ΄; 1762–1842) was

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople ( Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of ...

during the period 1822-1824.

Biography

He was born in Koronis (Komiaki) of

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

in 1762. His father was a priest in the village, with descent from the

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word '' laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

. His last name was Chorianopoulos. He served as

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

of the Patriarchate during the Patriarchy of Neophytus VII and was Great Archdeacon from 1791. In April 1797 he became

Protosyncellus A protosyncellus or protosynkellos ( el, πρωτοσύγκελλος) is the principal deputy of the bishop of an eparchy for the exercise of administrative authority in an Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic church. The equivalent position in t ...

of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He was elected Metropolitan of Smyrna in 1797 as successor of the Metropolitan Gregory, who was elected Patriarch, as

Gregory V Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia * Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire o ...

. In 1821 he was elected

Metropolitan of Chalcedon The Metropolis of Chalcedon ( el, Μητρόπολη Χαλκηδόνος) is an ecclesiastical territory (diocese) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Christianity spread in Chalcedon during the 2nd century AD. The city was initially ...

(1821-1822). The Turks, in retaliation for the spread the

Greek Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted b ...

, arrested him together with other hierarchs and imprisoned him for 7 months in the dungeons of a prison of Istanbul. In 1822, after the hanging of Gregory V and the death of his successor Eugenius II from torture suffered at the hands of the Ottomans, Anthimus, who was still imprisoned, was elected Patriarch. As Patriarch he succeeded in maintaining the independence of the

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, translit=Ekklisia tis Kyprou; tr, Kıbrıs Kilisesi) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communion ...

and its prerogatives, during a period when the Ottomans proceeded with executions of clerics and

kodjabashis The kodjabashis ( el, κοτζαμπάσηδες, kotzabasides; singular κοτζάμπασης, ''kotzabasis''; sh, kodžobaša, kodžabaša; from tr, kocabaṣı, hocabaṣı) were local Christian notables in parts of the Ottoman Balkans, most ...

on the island, while even member of the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

advocated the abolition of the Church. Anthimus also refused to allow a British Protestant to publish a translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

Demotic Greek Demotic Greek or Dimotiki ( el, Δημοτική Γλώσσα, , , ) is the standard spoken language of Greece in modern times and, since the resolution of the Greek language question in 1976, the official language of Greece. "Demotic Greek" ( ...

by the Partiarchal Typography. In 1824, Anthimus III was deposed by Sultan

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

because he refused to cooperate with him against the Greek Revolution, and with the accusation that he favoured the independence of the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...

from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. He took refuge in

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; ...

and was later exiled to the Timiou Prodromou Monastery in

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large industrialised city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is composed of five districts: the two central districts of Kocasina ...

of Cappadocia. After many months of exile and many hardships that affected his health, in December 1825 the Sultan allowed him to return to Smyrna. There he stayed in a small apartment in the Upper Mahalla and often participated in the local ecclesiastic life. He also served as deputy of the Metropolis of Smyrna in 1831 and in 1833. He died in 1842 in the Greek Hospital of Smyrna and bequeathed his entire fortune to churches and charitable institutions of the city. His magnificent funeral was held by the

Metropolitan of Ephesus The Metropolis of Ephesus ( el, Μητρόπολις Εφέσου) was an ecclesiastical territory (metropolis) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in western Asia Minor, modern Turkey. Christianity was introduced already in the city o ...

, Anthimus and was buried in the church of John the Theologian, where until the

Asia Minor Catastrophe Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

there was also a big icon of him.

Sources

Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο

Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthimus 03 1762 births 1842 deaths Bishops of Chalcedon Eastern Orthodox bishops of Smyrna 19th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople People from Naxos