Anthimus II ( el, ) 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 ...

for a few months in 1623.

Life

Anthimus was born in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

to a noble and rich family. Before he was elected as Patriarch of Constantinople, he was Metropolitan of Adrianople. His short reign has to be considered in the context of the clash between the pro-

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

Patriarch Cyril Lucaris, supported by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ambassadors, and his opponents supported by the French,

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and Venetian ambassadors to the Ottoman capital. The latter were successful at persuading the Grand Vizier to depose Cyril Lucaris on 12 April 1623 and to appoint in his place the blind and old Gregory IV. The Metropolitans and the bishops were unsatisfied with Gregory IV because he had not been canonically elected by 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 ...

. Thus, on 18 June 1623, the Holy Synod deposed Gregory IV and formally elected Anthimus II as Patriarch of Constantinople. Anthimus II, even if politically supported by the Catholic governments, remained a strong and good Orthodox. He sent metropolitans to

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

, where Lucaris was temporarily exiled, to persuade him to retire to Mount Athos, but without success. On the contrary, Lucaris, thanks to the Calvinist Dutch ambassador, returned to Constantinople and produced false instruments of credit for 20,000

Livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

on the Patriarchate. Anthimus could not find such large amount and was forced to abdicate on 22 September 1623. Subsequently, Lucaris returned on the patriarchal throne for the third time. After his

resignation Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

, Anthimus retired on Mount Athos where he died in 1628.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthimus 02 of Constantinople, Patriarch 1628 deaths 17th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople Year of birth unknown Simony Bishops of Adrianople Clergy from Istanbul Constantinopolitan Greeks