Matthew II ( el, ), (? – 1603) 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 ...

three times, shortly in 1596, from 1598 to 1602 and for a few days in 1603.

Life

Member of the

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

community, Matthew was born in the village Kleinovo (now part of

Kalabaka Kalabaka ( el, Καλαμπάκα, ''Kalabáka'', alternative transliterations are ''Kalambaka'' and ''Kalampaka'') is a town and seat of the municipality of Meteora in the Trikala regional unit, part of Thessaly in Greece. The population was ...

), and he became

Metropolitan of Ioannina The Metropolis of Ioannina ( el, Ιερά Μητρόπολις Ιωαννίνων, ''Iera Mitropolis Ioanninon'') is a Greek Orthodox diocese centred on the city of Ioannina, in the Epirus of Greece. As one of the "New Lands", it belongs formally t ...

. In early 1596 he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch, but the election was not recognized because 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 ...

that elected him was not attended by all the members; thus, after twenty days Matthew was forced to resign and moved to Mount Athos. In April 1598 Matthew was elected again in April 1598. During this Patriarchate Matthew transferred the patriarchal see from the Church of St. Demetrius Xyloportas, used since 1597, to the unimpressive church of the women's monastery of St. George in the

Phanar Fener (; Greek: Φανάρι, ''Phanári''; in English also: Phanar) is a quarter midway up the Golden Horn in the district of Fatih in Istanbul, Turkey. Its name is a Turkish transliteration of the word "phanarion" (Medieval Greek: Φανάρι� ...

, where it remains until today as St. George's Cathedral. The Phanar district then became the recognised centre of Greek Christian life in the city. He remained on the throne until January 1602, when he returned to Mount Athos. Once again, he ascended to the throne in January 1603 and reigned for seventeen days, either until his death, or, according to other sources, until he retired to Mount Athos, where he died in the same year.

Canonizations

Matthew

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

the Blessed Philothei, who was martyred in 1589 in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthew 02 Of Constantinople, Patriarch 16th-century births 1603 deaths People from Trikala (regional unit) 16th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople 17th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople 16th-century Greek people Bishops of Ioannina Aromanian people