Mark II Xylokaravis ( el, , bg, Марк Ксилокарав, mk, Марко Ксилокараф), (? – after 1467) 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 ...

from 1465 to 1466. In 1467 he became

Archbishop of Ohrid The Archbishop of Ohrid is a historic title given to the primate of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. The whole original title of the primate was Archbishop of Justiniana Prima and all Bulgaria ( gr, ἀρχιεπίσκοπὴ τῆς Πρώτης Ἰου ...

, a post he held until his death.

Life

Concerning the early life of Mark our main source is a document of the

Senate of Venice The Senate ( vec, Senato), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, la, Consilium Rogatorum), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or le ...

dated 26 June 1466, which orders the Venetian government in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

to prevent Mark and his father in case they tried to seek refuge on the island. From this document scholars, such as Laurent, deduce that in June 1466 Mark was actually Patriarch, that he and his family had previously been in Crete and that they opposed the East-West Union of Churches established in the

Council of Florence The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...

and supported by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

. Mark became Metropolitan of

Adrianople Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

in 1464, and in autumn 1465 (or early 1466) he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople with the support of

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

s such as the

Great Chartophylax A ''chartophylax'' ( el, χαρτοφύλαξ, from χάρτα, "document" and φύλαξ, "guard, keeper"), sometimes also referred to as a '' chartoularios'', was an ecclesiastical officer in charge of official documents and records in the Greek ...

George Galesiotes and the Grand Ecclesiarch (i.e. Head

Sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretals ...

) Manuel (the future Patriarch Maximus III), as well as the secretary of the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Demetrios Kyritzes. On the other hand, it is known that some bishops refused to commemorate him during the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

, as a sign that they did not recognize him as patriarch, probably accusing him of

simony Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to imp ...

. Mark clashed mainly with the faction composed of the nobles of the former

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...

who were forced to move to

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, ...

(Constantinople) after Trebizond's fall to the Ottomans in 1461. This faction supported its own candidate for the patriarchal throne, the future Patriarch Symeon of Trebizond. Symeon was successful in obtaining the throne, giving 2000 pieces of gold as a present to the

Ottoman government The Ottoman Empire developed over the years as a despotism with the Sultan as the supreme ruler of a centralized government that had an effective control of its provinces, officials and inhabitants. Wealth and rank could be inherited but were j ...

, thus beginning a

simoniac Simony () is the act of selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after Simon Magus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples of Jesus payment in exchange for their empowering him to im ...

practice that marked the history of the Patriarchate of Constantinople for the following centuries. According to Laurent however, who places the patriarchate of Mark after the one of Symeon, it was Mark that bought the patriarchal office paying 2000 pieces of gold. Whichever the cause, Mark was deposed in humiliation from the throne, facing

lapidation Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times. The Torah and T ...

in autumn 1466 or early 1467. However he was soon rehabilitated and appointed by Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

. The

Archbishopric of Ohrid The Archbishopric of Ohrid, also known as the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid *T. Kamusella in The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe, Springer, 2008, p. 276 *Aisling Lyon, Decentralisation and the Management of Ethni ...

was at the time the semi-autonomous main religious center of the

Ottoman Bulgaria The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, from the conquest by the Ottoman Empire of the smaller kingdoms emerging from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire in the late 14th century, to the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. As ...

. The date of death of Mark is not known.

Disputed chronology

There is no consensus among scholars concerning the chronology of Mark II's reign. Many scholars, such as Kiminas (2009), Runciman (1985), Grumel (1958) and Bishop Germanos of Sardeis (1933–8), as well as the official website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, follow the chronicles of

Dorotheos of Monemvasia Pseudo-Dorotheos of Monemvasia ( el, Δωρόθεος Μονεμβασίας) is the name given to the unknown author (or compiler) of a Greek-language chronicle titled ''Historical Book'' (Βιβλίον Ιστορικόν), published at Venice ...

and place the reign of Mark II before Symeon I, even if with some slightly different suggestions about the precise dates of the reign, however generally in the range from 1465 to 1467. Laurent (1968), followed by Podskalsky (1988), believes that the clashes with Symeon happened when Mark was still Metropolitan of Adrianople, and place Symeon's reign before Mark's. For a comparison of the main proposals, see the

List of Patriarchs of Constantinople This is a list of the Patriarchs of Constantinople. Bishops of Byzantium (until 330) *1. St. Andrew the Apostle (38), founder *2. St. Stachys the Apostle (38–54) *3. St. Onesimus (54–68) *4. Polycarpus I (69–89) *5. Plutarch (89–10 ...

. Laurent alone suggests a second short patriarchate of Mark after the first reign of Dionysius I at end 1471.

Notes

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Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mark 02 Of Constantinople, Patriarch 15th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Archbishops of Ohrid Simony