Raphael I of Constantinople ( el, , ''Rafaíl A΄'', sr, Рафаило I / ''Rafailo I''; ? – 1476) 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 1475 to 1476.

Life

Raphael was a Serbian monk. He probably was chosen and supported as Patriarch by Mara Brankovic, the stepmother of

Mehmed the Conqueror 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 ...

. Raphael was successfully appointed Patriarch in the first months of 1475, promising 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 ...

a yearly payment of 2000 gold florins and a one-time gift of 700 gold florins. The

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

community of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

had not part in his appointment and fiercely opposed him. The Metropolitan of Heraclea, who traditionally enthroned the new patriarch, refused to consecrate him, and the liturgy was celebrated by the Metropolitan of

Ancyra Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

. For this reason he was not recognized as Patriarch by a large part of the Greek clergy. In September 1475, he appointed Spyridon of Tver as new Eastern Orthodox

Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' The Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' (russian: Митрополит Киевский и всея Руси, Mitropolit Kiyevskiy i vseya Rusi; ) was a metropolis of the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected on the territory of Kievan Rus'. It exi ...

. The sources show an extended bias against Raphael. He is accused of not speaking properly

and is denounced for his foreign accent and for his addiction to alcohol. It is reported that he was not able to stand during the ceremonies of the

Great Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy ...

because he was drunk. Raphael reigned for about one year, until early 1476: at the beginning of the year, when he had to pay the annual gift he had promised to the Sultan, he tried to collect it from his faithful, who denied their help. Unable to pay the requested fee, he was immediately deposed and imprisoned. He died shortly after still in chains.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raphael 01 of Constantinople, Patriarch 15th-century patriarchs of Constantinople Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia 1476 deaths Eastern Orthodox monks Year of birth unknown 15th-century Serbian people Medieval Serbian Orthodox clergy Serbian monks