Dionysius IV of Constantinople

Dionysius IV Mouselimes (? – 23 September 1696) 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 th ...

for five times, in 1671–73, 1676–79, 1682–84, 1686–87, and 1693–94. He was born in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, where he grew up. He studied at the

Phanar Greek Orthodox College Phanar Greek Orthodox College or Phanar Roman Orthodox Lyceum ( tr, Özel Fener Rum Lisesi), known in Greek as the Great School of the Nation and Patriarchal Academy of Constantinople ( el, Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή, ''Megáli t ...

and worked as an administrative officer at the Patriarchate. On 9 August 1662 he was elected

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Larissa, where he remained until 1671, when he was first elected Patriarch of Constantinople. After his second term as Patriarch of Constantinople, from 1676 to 1679, he settled in

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

, a historical region of Romania. Dionysius was in conflict with Patriarch James, Patriarch of Constantinople from 1679 to 1682, whom he forced to resign in 1682. After his third term (1682–84), when Parthenius IV (1684–85) was restored for his fourth time, he moved to

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...

until 1686. He returned to Constantinople on 7 April 1686 and overthrew James again, who was restored for the first time (1685–86). James retaliated by offering a large sum to the Grand Vizier and overthrew Dionysius on 17 October 1687. He was imprisoned by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

twice, in 1679, and from 1687 until 1688. After his final removal from the patriarchal throne in 1694, he retired in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Dionysius died on 23 September 1696 at

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște''; german: Tergowisch) is a city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița River. Târgoviște was one of the ...

in Wallachia and was buried in

Radu Vodă Monastery Radu Vodă Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery in Bucharest, Romania. History of the Place Paleolithic Because of its favorable environment and the elevated terrain close to a big river, the area of the monastery was inhabited starting f ...

, a Romanian Orthodox monastery in Bucharest, where he lived his last years. During his time of patriarchy he dealt with many religious and political subjects including the position of the Orthodox church against the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

confessions and

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 ...

theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

. , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dionysius 04 Of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch 1600s births Year of birth unknown 1696 deaths 17th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople Bishops of Larissa Clergy from Istanbul Constantinopolitan Greeks