Neophytus II of Constantinople (; died after 1612) 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 ...

twice, in 1602–1603 and in 1607–1612. An

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, he served as

Archbishopric of Athens The Archbishopric of Athens () is a Greek Orthodox archiepiscopal see based in the city of Athens, Greece. It is the senior see of Greece, and the seat of the autocephalous Church of Greece. Its incumbent (since 2008) is Ieronymos II of Athens. ...

from 1597 until 3 February 1602, when he was elected as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in the place of his rival, Matthew II of Constantinople. His tenure was cut short a year later when he was deposed amid accusations of various scandals. He was initially exiled 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 ...

, and thence to

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( , ), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai ...

in the Sinai. He was restored to the patriarchal throne on 15 October 1607 and held it for five years. During his second tenure, he took care of aligning church administrative practice and canon law with the contemporary needs and took measures to replenish the patriarchal coffers. He was also in contact with Western potentates, including

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

and King

Philip III of Spain Philip III (; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain and King of Portugal, Portugal (where he is known as Philip II of Portugal) during the Iberian Union. His reign lasted from 1598 until his death in 1621. He held dominion over the S ...

, whom he urged to engage in a crusade to liberate the Orthodox Christians from 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 ...

, going as far as to make considerable concessions to the doctrine of the

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, including recognising

papal primacy Papal primacy, also known as the primacy of the bishop of Rome, is an ecclesiological doctrine in the Catholic Church concerning the respect and authority that is due to the pope from other bishops and their episcopal sees. While the doctri ...

.Adina Ruiu,
Conflicting Visions of the Jesuit Missions to the Ottoman Empire, 1609–1628
, ''Journal of Jesuit Studies'', Volume 1 (2014), Issue 2 (March 2014) - Jesuit Missionary Perspectives and Strategies, pp. 260–280. "As rançois de Canillac (1574–1629)summarized in the letter of 10 January 1612, the Orthodox patriarch Neophytus II wished to send his nephew to Rome and to live in "peace and union" with the Latin church, but he was forced to hide his wish for fear of repression". (footnote 31) His pro-Western policy and financial exactions made him many enemies, including Cyril I of Constantinople, who succeeded in securing his deposition in October 1612. Originally slated to be exiled to Rhodes again, he was protected by his successor,

Timothy II of Constantinople Timothy II of Constantinople (; died 3 September 1620) was list of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1612 to 1620. Life Timothy Marmarinos was born in Bandırma, on the southern shore of the ...

, who had been his protégé.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neophytus 02 16th-century births 17th-century deaths 16th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 16th-century Greek clergy 17th-century ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople 17th-century Greek clergy Bishops of Athens Greeks from the Ottoman Empire Clergy from Athens