Meletius II of Constantinople (; died 5 January 1780) served as

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 ...

during the period 1768–1769. He was born in

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos''; ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...

. From 1750 until 1768, he served as metropolitan bishop of Larissa and then was elected Ecumenical Patriarch. During the uprising of 1769, he was dismissed and was exiled to

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

. In 1775, with permission of the Sultan

Abdul Hamid I Abdulhamid I or Abdul Hamid I (, ''`Abdü’l-Ḥamīd-i evvel''; ; 20 March 1725 – 7 April 1789) was the 27th sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1774 to 1789. A devout and pacifist sultan, he inherited a bankrupt empire and sought military r ...

, he returned to Tenedos and in 1777 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 ...

, where he died destitute in 1780. He was probably buried on Tenedos. In the late 20th century, his fragmentary tombstone was discovered in the garden of North Bank, a mansion in

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where it may have been taken as a souvenir in the 19th century. In 2013, the stone was returned to

, in the custody of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen Autocephaly, autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. ...

Notes and references

Bibliography

Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο
* Encyclopaedia

Papyrus Larousse Britannica The ''Papyrus Larousse Britannica'' (''Πάπυρος Larousse Britannica'') is a Greek language encyclopedia of 61 volumes, based on the French encyclopedia ''Grand Larousse encyclopédique'' and the English ''Encyclopædia Britannica T ...

, 2007, vol. 35, p. 419. {{Authority control People from Tenedos Bishops of Larissa 18th-century ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople Tenedos 18th-century Greek clergy