Neophytus II ( el, Νεόφυτος Βʹ) was

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 ...

twice, in 1602–03 and in 1607–12. An

Athenian 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 ...

, he served as

Metropolitan of Athens The Archbishopric of Athens ( el, Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αθηνών) is a Greek Orthodox archiepiscopal see based in the city of Athens, Greece. It is the senior see of Greece, and the seat of the autocephalous Church of Greece. Its ...

from 1597 until 3 April 1602, when he was elected as Patriarch in the place of his rival, Matthew II. His tenure was cut short a year later, when he was deposed amid accusations of various scandals. He was initially exiled to

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

, and thence to

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...

in the

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

. He was restored to the patriarchal throne on 15 October 1607, and held it for five years. During his second tenure he took care of aligning church administrative practice and canon law with the contemporary needs, and took measures to replenish the patriarchal coffers. He was also in contact with Western potentates, including

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

and King

Philip III of Spain Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...

, whom he urged to engage in a crusade to liberate the Orthodox Christians from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, going as far as to make considerable concessions to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, including recognizing

papal primacy Papal primacy, also known as the primacy of the bishop of Rome, is a Roman Catholic ecclesiological doctrine concerning the respect and authority that is due to the pope from other bishops and their episcopal sees. The doctrine is accepted a ...

.Adina Ruiu,
Conflicting Visions of the Jesuit Missions to the Ottoman Empire, 1609–1628
, ''Journal of Jesuit Studies'', Volume 1 (2014): Issue 2 (March 2014): Jesuit Missionary Perspectives and Strategies, p. 260–280. "As rançois de Canillac (1574–1629)summarized in the letter of 10 January 1612, the Orthodox patriarch Neophytus II wished to send his nephew to Rome and to live in “peace and union” with the Latin church, but he was forced to hide his wish for fear of repression." (footnote 31) His pro-Western policy and financial exactions made him many enemies, including

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 ...

, who succeeded in securing his deposition in October 1612. Originally slated to be exiled to Rhodes again, he was protected by his successor, Timothy II, who had been his protégé.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neophytus 02 16th-century births 17th-century deaths 16th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 16th-century Greek clergy 17th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople 17th-century Greek clergy Bishops of Athens Greeks from the Ottoman Empire Clergy from Athens