Maximus V ( el, Μάξιμος Εʹ; 26 October 1897 – 1 January 1972) was an Orthodox Christian bishop. He 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 1946 until 1948.

Biography

He was born Maximos Vaportzis in northern Turkey, at

Sinop Sinop can refer to: * Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea ** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018 ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...

in Kastamonu Vilayet, on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

coast. He was first educated, under the protection of metropolitan bishop Germanos of Amaseia, at the

Theological School of Halki The Halki seminary, formally the Theological School of Halki ( el, Θεολογική Σχολή Χάλκης and tr, Ortodoks Ruhban Okulu), was founded on 1 October 1844 on the island of Halki ( Turkish: Heybeliada), the second-largest of the ...

, Istanbul. In 1918, he was ordained a deacon. With this appointment, he also became teacher at the city school of Theira. He served as arch-deacon under Metropolitans Gregorios of Chalcedon and Joachim of Ephesus. In 1920, he became the archdeacon to the Ecumenical Patriarchate itself. In 1946, he became Patriarch of Constantinople. He was known for his 'leftist' opinions and ties with the Moscow Patriarchate. He resigned in 1948, officially because of poor health; unofficially because western powers did not approve his ties with the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

-controlled Patriarch of Moscow. He was succeeded by the archbishop of America, Athenagoras, and was given the title of Ephesus. He died in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

on January 1, 1972.

External links

His All Hollines Ecumenical Patriarch Maximus of Constantinople
1897 births 1972 deaths People from Sinop, Turkey People from Kastamonu vilayet Pontic Greeks 20th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople Theological School of Halki alumni Bishops of Chalcedon {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub