Seraphim II Anina ( el, ), (? – 7 December 1779) was the Greek

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 1757 until 1761.

Life

Seraphim II was born in Delvinë, located in modern-day southern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

in the late 17th century. Before he was elected as Patriarch of Constantinople on 22 July 1757 he was Metropolitan of Philippoupolis. As Patriarch in 1759 he introduces the feast of

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...

on 30 November, and in 1760 he gave the first permission to

Cosmas of Aetolia Kosmas the Aetolian, sometimes Cosmas the Aetolian or Patrokosmas "Father Kosmas" ( el, Κοσμᾶς ὁ Αἰτωλός, ''Kosmas Etolos''; born between 1700 and 1714 – died 1779), was a monk in the Greek Orthodox Church. He is recognized as ...

to begin missionary tours in the villages of

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 t ...

. In 1759 he invited

Eugenios Voulgaris Eugenios Voulgaris or Boulgaris ( gr, Εὐγένιος Βούλγαρης; russian: link=yes, Евгений Вулгарский, Евгений Вулгар; 1716–1806) was a Greek Orthodox cleric, author, educator, mathematician, astronome ...

to head the reforms in the patriarchal academy and during his tenure in the academy influenced by Seraphim's pro-Russian ideals Voulgaris contributed to the reapproachment of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

with the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

. As a consequence Seraphim II was deposed on 26 March 1761 and exiled on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

, and he was replaced by the Ottoman authorities with Joannicius III. On Mount Athos, he rebuilt an old Monastic house, and dedicated it to the Saint Andrew. This house would eventually become the Skete of Saint Andrew.A brief history of Saint Andrew’s Skete
/ref> On the field of politics, he supported the Russian Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 and the establishment of an Orthodox pro-Russian state in the Balkans. In 1769 he urged the Greek population to rebel against the Turks. After the failure of the revolution, in 1776 he moved to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, where he died on 7 December 1779. He was buried in the

Mhar Monastery , native_name_lang = , logo = , logo_size = , logo_caption = , image = Спасо-Преображенський Мгарський монастир!.jpg , image_size = , image_ ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seraphim 02 Of Constantinople 17th-century births 1780s deaths People from Delvinë Albanian clergy Greek clergy Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania 18th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople Albanian Eastern Orthodox priests 18th-century Greek people 18th-century Greek politicians