Raphael II ( el, ) 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 1603 to 1607.

Life

Raphael was Bishop of Mithymna when, in March 1603, he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch. During his patriarchate, he addressed the regulation of many ecclesiastical matters and issued a number of standard provisions. The clashes with the previous Patriarch Neophytus II caused many problems in the Church, to the point that

Cyril Lucaris Cyril Lucaris or Loukaris ( el, Κύριλλος Λούκαρις, 13 November 1572 – 27 June 1638), born Constantine Lucaris, was a Greek prelate and theologian, and a native of Candia, Crete (then under the Republic of Venice). He later bec ...

, in a letter to the Bishop of Heraclea Dionysius, wrote that "''... Raphael ruled the Patriarchate as a tyrant for more than four years ...''". Raphael showed interest in a possible union with the Western Church and he began a secret correspondence with 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 ...

. He remained Patriarch until October 1607, when he was forcibly deposed by

Sultan Ahmed I Ahmed I ( ota, احمد اول '; tr, I. Ahmed; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal f ...

and suffered a violent death in exile.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raphael 02 Of Constantinople, Patriarch 17th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople 17th-century Greek clergy