Joasaph II, known as "the Magnificent" ( el, Ιωάσαφ Β΄ ο Μεγαλοπρεπής; died after 1565) 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 ...

from 1556 to 1565.

Life

Joasaph was born in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

. He studied in Ioannina and then in

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

, learning

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and Turkish. In 1535 he was consecrated bishop of Adrianople by Patriarch Jeremias I. After the death of the Patriarch Dionysius II, he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in July or August 1556.according to other scholars it was in August 1555 He was successful in reducing the appointment fee (''peshtesh'') due to the Ottoman Sultan to one thousand Écus. Joasaph promoted learning among the clergy, reformed the administration of the Church assets, and improved the finances reducing by half the debts of the Patriarchate. He also began a major enlargement of the Patriarchal palace. Due to these achievements, he was given the sobriquet ''the Magnificent'' ( el, ). In 1556 he established in Constantinople a Patriarchal School, the forerunner of the

Great School of the Nation Phanar Greek Orthodox College or Phanar Roman Orthodox Lyceum ( tr, Özel Fener Rum Lisesi), known in Greek as the Great School of the Nation and Patriarchal Academy of Constantinople ( el, Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή, ''Megáli t ...

. He showed interest in the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

, in particular

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

, and in 1558 he sent to

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...

the Serbian deacon Demetrios Mysos (

Dimitrije Ljubavić Dimitrije Ljubavić ( sr, Димитрије Љубавић, Dimitrije Ljubavić - Venice, January 1519 – Brașov, 1564) was a Serbian Orthodox deacon, humanist, writer and printer who together with German reformer Philip Melanchthon initiated th ...

) to collect information. In 1559 the Lutheran theologian Melanchthon sent him a letter along with a Greek translation of the Augsburg Confession, but it didn't produce any effect. Some scholars suggest that Melanchthon's letter never reached Constantinople. Joasaph's expensive works, his haughty manner towards the clergy and his independent management of the finances created many opponents among the Greek community. The ultimate cause of his deposition was related to the request, in 1557, by Ivan the Terrible of Russia to have his title of

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

formally confirmed. In place of summoning a synod to deliberate the issue, Joasaph sent to Russia a counterfeit synodical document in order to collect the rich reward for himself. His deceit was discovered, and he was deposed by a synod of sixty bishops on 15 January 1565 and exiled to Mount Athos. Some time later he was allowed by the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

to be reinstated in the Diocese of Adrianople, where he remained until his death.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joasaph 02 Of Constantinople, Patriarch 16th-century Greek people 16th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 16th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Bishops of Adrianople 16th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople