Joannicius III of Constantinople (; ; 1700 – 1793) was

Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch This is a list of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an Autocephaly, autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Se ...

from 1739 to 1746 and

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

from 1761 to 1763. The

ordinal number In set theory, an ordinal number, or ordinal, is a generalization of ordinal numerals (first, second, th, etc.) aimed to extend enumeration to infinite sets. A finite set can be enumerated by successively labeling each element with the leas ...

of his title is III both for his office as

Serbian Patriarch This is a list of heads of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since the establishment of the church as an Autocephaly, autocephalous archbishopric in 1219 to today's patriarchate. The list includes all the archbishops and patriarchs that led the Se ...

and of Constantinople.

Life

''Ioannis Karatzas'' was born in circa 1700 and belonged to the influential

Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...

family Caradja (''Karatzas''), of

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...

origin.Genealogical Tree of the Caradja Family
/ref> He became a

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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

serving Patriarch Paisius II of Constantinople and later he was appointed

protosyncellus A protosyncellus, protosynkellos or protosyngel () 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 the Western Chris ...

. With the 1739

Treaty of Belgrade The Treaty of Belgrade, also known as the Belgrade Peace, was a peace treaty between the Habsburg Monarchy and Ottoman Empire, that was signed on September 18, 1739 in Belgrade (modern Serbia), thus ending the Austro–Turkish War (1737–1739) ...

which ended the

Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) The Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was caused by the Ottoman Empire's war with Persia and the continuing raids by the Crimean Tatars. The war also represented Russia's ongoing struggle for access to the Bl ...

, the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

ceased to exist. The

Ottoman sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

deposed Serbian Patriarch

Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta Arsenije IV Jovanović Šakabenta ( sr-cyr, Арсеније IV Јовановић Шакабента, ; 1698 – 18 January 1748) was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch from 1725 to 1737 and Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Habs ...

who sided with the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

during the war, and in his place appointed the Greek Joannicius, who took the title of ''Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch''. Among the Serbs, he was known as ''Joanikije'' (Јоаникије), and it was recorded at the time that he was appointed by "the mighty ule of theTurk, and not by election at the erbian''sabor'' (assembly)". The previous patriarch Arsenije IV moved to the Habsburg monarchy along with many

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

, in what is known as the Second Great Serb Migration. Arsenije IV became

Metropolitan of Karlovci The Metropolitanate of Karlovci () was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 1713, it was known as the Metropolitanate of Krušedol, and between 1713 an ...

, maintaining however deep connections with the Serbs who remained in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

under the jurisdiction of Joannicius. Joannicius remained

until 1746, when, burdened with debts due to his high-living, he was forced to sell the title to pay his creditors. After returning to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, in September 1747 he obtained an appointment as

Metropolitan of Chalcedon The Metropolis of Chalcedon () is an ecclesiastical territory (diocese) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Christianity spread in Chalcedon during the 2nd century AD. The city was initially the see of a bishopric before being promot ...

. On 26 March 1761, he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, an office he maintained until 21 May 1763, when he was deposed and exiled to

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

. Thanks to the support of his family, Joannicius III returned from exile and obtained the revenue from the monastery of the island of Halki near Constantinople, where he died in 1793.

Notes and references

Bibliography

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External links

Official site of the Serbian Orthodox Church - Serbian Archbishops and Patriarchs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joannicius 03 Of Constantinople, Patriarch 1700s births 1793 deaths Patriarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church Caradja family 18th-century Greek people 18th-century ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople Bishops of Chalcedon