Neophytus VII of Constantinople (''Neophytos VII''

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Νεόφυτος; died after 1801) was

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 periods 1789–1794 and 1798–1801.

Biography

Neophytus was born in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

. He studied in the

Evangelical School of Smyrna The Evangelical School ( officially Ἡ ἐν Σμύρνῃ Εὐαγγελική Σχολή) was a Greek educational institution established in 1733 in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, now İzmir, Turkey. The school, initially an Orthodox Church-approved ...

, where he was classmates with

Nicodemus the Hagiorite Nicodemus the Hagiorite or Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (; 1749 – July 14, 1809) was a Greek ascetic monk, mystic, theologian, and philosopher, venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. His life's work was a revival of tradition ...

and

Adamantios Korais Adamantios Korais or Koraïs ( ; ; ; 27 April 17486 April 1833) was a Greek scholar credited with laying the foundations of modern Greek literature and a major figure in the Greek Enlightenment. His activities paved the way for the Greek War ...

. He was an especially educated man and was against the simplification of religious texts, as he thought that something like that would lead to their vulgarisation. He served as great

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of the Patriarchate and in May 1771 he was elected metropolitan bishop of

Maroneia Maroneia () is a village and a former municipality in Rhodope regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Maroneia-Sapes, of which it is a municipal unit. The munic ...

. On 1 May 1789, he succeeded

Procopius of Constantinople Procopius of Constantinople (Greek: Προκόπιος), original surname ''Pelekasis'' (Πελεκάσης; 1730 – 13 March 1812) served as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople during the period 1785–1789. Biography Procopius was born ...

on the Ecumenical throne, with some concerns about how canonical his election was. Even though his reign is considered worthy, he had to resign on 1 March 1794 and retired to

Heybeliada Heybeliada, or Heybeli Ada, () is the second largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Adalar, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its populatio ...

and later to

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

Patmos Patmos (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where, according to Christian belief, John of Patmos received the vision found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. ...

and

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 ...

. He was reelected Patriarch on 19 December 1798, but on 17 June 1801 he resigned again and was exiled to Mount Athos. During his reign, the philosophy teacher Christodoulos Pamplekis was excommunicated, while the Great School of the Nation was reconstituted and many schools were founded. With a canonical arrangement, he condemned

pantheism Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...

, while a synodic decision condemned the book "Περί συνεχούς μεταλήψεως", written by the former

metropolitan bishop of Corinth The Metropolis of Corinth, Sicyon, Zemenon, Tarsos and Polyphengos () is a metropolitan see of the Church of Greece in Corinthia, Greece. Since the Middle Ages it has also existed as a Roman Catholic titular see. The current metropolitan (since 200 ...

Macarius of Corinth Macarius of Corinth (also Makarios; born Michael Notaras, Μιχαὴλ Νοταρᾶς; ; 1731–1805) was Metropolitan bishop of Corinth, was a mystic and spiritual writer who worked to revive and mostly sustain the Eastern Orthodox Church und ...

. He re-founded after 413 years the

Metropolis of Corfu The Metropolis of Corfu, Paxoi and the Diapontian Islands () is a metropolitan see of the Church of Greece. Its seat is the town of Corfu on the island of Corfu in northwestern Greece. It encompasses the entire Corfu Prefecture, i.e. not only the ...

and blessed, with the permission of the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

, the new

flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands The Flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands was used between 1815 and 1864. The flag consisted of a Blue Ensign with the coat of arms of the predecessor state, the Septinsular Republic on it with a red border. History The United States ...

in the Church of St. George. During his lifetime, and after many discussions, the translation and publication the Canon of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

Demotic Greek Demotic Greek (, , , ) 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" (with a capital D) contrasts with the conservat ...

was finally approved. Consequently, Christopher's "Κανονικόν" and Nicodemus the Hagiorite's "Πηδάλιον" were published,Σπύρος Καρύδης, «Η χειρόγραφη εκδοχή της εγκυκλίου του πρώην Κωνσταντινουπόλεως Νεοφύτου Ζ΄ (1802) για τις προσθήκες στην α΄ έκδοση του Πηδαλίου», Ο Ερανιστής 27 (2009), 259–262. the latter also publishing "Μέγα Ευχολόγιον" in Constantinople. With his permission,

John IV of Constantinople John IV of Constantinople (died 2 September 595), also known as ''John Nesteutes'' (, ''Ioannes the Faster''), was patriarch of Constantinople (12 April 582 – 2 September 595). He was the first to assume the title ''Ecumenical Patriarch''. He ...

's Canon was also published by the Patriarchal Press.

Notes and references

Bibliography

Οικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο

Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού
*

External links

Ο Πατριάρχης Νεόφυτος Ζ’
(Εξ ανεκδότου κώδικος Ιω. Πρωΐου Θεραπειανού) (pdf) {{Authority control 18th-century ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople 19th-century ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople Smyrniote Greeks