Metrophanes III of Byzantium ( el, , 1520 – 9 August 1580) 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 ...

two times, from 1565 to 1572 and from 1579 to 1580.

Life

Metrophanes was born in 1520 to a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

merchant father in the village of

Agia Paraskevi Agia Paraskevi ( el, Αγία Παρασκευή, ''Agía Paraskeví'') is a suburb and a municipality in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is part of the North Athens regional unit. Agia Paraskevi was named after the ...

(now part of

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, ...

), from where he took the sobriquet ''Byzantios'' ("of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

"). His original name is variously given as Manuel or George. In 1546 he was appointed Metropolitan of

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

by his personal friend Patriarch Dionysius II, who sent him to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

mainly to raise funds, but Metrophanes went also to Rome and met the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. In 1548 this news caused a great concern in a part of the Greek population of Constantinople, with riots and an attempt to murder Dionysius who was considered as guilty as Metrophanes. Dionysius was on the point of being deposed, but no actions was taken against him because he enjoyed the support of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...

. Metrophanes was deposed from his

See See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of Caesarea, but in 1551 he was forgiven and he went to live in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in the island of

Chalki Halki ( el, Χάλκη; alternatively ''Chalce'' or ''Chalki'') is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese archipelago in the Aegean Sea, some west of Rhodes. With an area of , it is the smallest inhabited island of the Dodecanese. It ...

where he took care and enlarged the library. He was elected Patriarch the first time in January or February 1565 supported by the rich and influential Michael Cantacuzene. He reigned for seven years, and tried to improve the finances of the Patriarchate also through a trip in

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

. He was an open-minded man of letters, and well disposed towards the Westerners, both Catholic and Protestant. In 1568, Metrophanes issued a strong condemnation in an encyclical letter concerning mistreatment of Jews 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 ...

, stating:

"Injustice ... regardless to whomever acted upon or performed against, is still injustice. The unjust person is never relieved of the responsibility of these acts under the pretext that the injustice is done against a heterodox and not to a believer. As our Lord
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
in the Gospels said do not oppress or accuse anyone falsely; do not make any distinction or give room to the believers to injure those of another belief."An Orthodox Christian View of Non-Christian Religions
by Rev. Dr. George C. Papademetriou;
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. Archbishop On May 11, 2019, the church's Hol ...

He was deposed on 4 May 1572 when Michael Cantacuzene transferred his support to the young and brilliant Jeremias II Tranos. After his deposition, to grant him a financial revenue, he was appointed bishop ''eis zoarkeian'' (i.e. without pastoral obligations) of

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

and

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

, and he returned to live in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity in the island of Chalki, near the capital. After his attempts to return to the throne, in 1573 he was exiled to

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

. Six years later, after the execution of Michael Cantacuzene and the murder of the Great Vizier

Mehmed Mehmed (modern Turkish: Mehmet) is the most common Bosnian and Turkish form of the Arabic name Muhammad ( ar, محمد) (''Muhammed'' and ''Muhammet'' are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of Muh ...

, Jeremias lost his supporters and Metrophanes was successfully restored on the throne on 25 November 1579. He died a few months later, on 9 August 1580, and was buried in the

Pammakaristos Church The Pammakaristos Church, also known as the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos ( el, , "All-Blessed Mother of God"), is one of the most famous Byzantine churches in Istanbul, Turkey, and was the last pre- Ottoman building to house the Ecumenical ...

, at the time the patriarchal cathedral.

Notes

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Metrophanes 03 Of Constantinople, Patriarch 1520 births 1580 deaths Bulgarian Orthodox bishops 16th-century Bulgarian people 16th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople Bulgarians from Eastern Thrace Bishops of Larissa Clergy from Istanbul People from Beyoğlu