Patriarch Nephon II of Constantinople
Encyclopedia
Nephon II, born Nicholas, was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople three times: from 1486 to 1488, from 1497 to 1498 and for a short time in 1502. He is honored as a saint
in the Eastern Orthodox Church
and his feast day is August 11.
peninsula in southern Greece
, of mixed parentage, his mother being a noble Greek lady and his father an Albanian
. He was tonsure
d a monk
at Epidaurus
, taking the religious name
of Nephon. He was involved in calligraphy and copying manuscripts. He then followed a monk named Zacharias and settled in the Monastery of the Theotokos
in Ohrid
. When Zacharias was elected Archbishop of Ohrid, Nephon went to Mount Athos
and there he was ordained a hieromonk
. In 1482 he was elected Metropolitan
of Thessaloniki
and at the end of 1486 he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople, supported by the wealthy rulers of Wallachia, who thus made their entry in the history of external influences on the Patriarchate's election process.
After eighteen months a scandal arose, which led to Nephon's removal. Specifically, the previous Patriarch Symeon I
died without making his will. İşkender Bey, one of the sons of Symeon's main sponsor, George Amiroutzes
, had converted to Islam
and was at the time the treasurer of the Sultan. He requested that all the inheritance of Symeon, which included also ecclesiastic items, should pass to the Sultan's treasury. To avoid this, Nephon pretended that a nephew of the deceased patriarch was the legitimate heir, finding three monks that bore false witness. After discovering the truth, the Sultan Bayezid II
confiscated the property of Symeon, punished the clergy involved in the scandal, and exiled Nephon. Nephon was exiled to some island in the Black Sea
off Sozopol
and was deposed in the first months of 1488. According to scholar Steven Runciman
, Nephon was a foolish and unsatisfactory Patriarch.
In summer 1497 Nephon was elected for the second time to the patriarchal throne, always with the support of Wallachia
, but his reign lasted only until August 1498 when he was overthrown by the young Joachim I
, who was supported by Constantine II of Georgia
. Nephon was sentenced to life imprisonment and exiled to Adrianople.
So great was the reputation of Nephon that the Voivode of Wallachia
Radu IV the Great bowed down when he went to visit the jailed patriarch. Shortly after Radu IV obtained bail for Nephon from the Ottoman Sultan. Nephon moved to Wallachia, where he was given a warm welcome by the clergy and laity and where he immediately ordained two bishops. In 1502 the Holy Synod
elected him Patriarch of Constantinople for the third time and sent emissaries to Wallachia to inform him, however Nephon resolutely refused the appointment and did not return to Istanbul
.
Between 1503 and 1505, Nephon de facto led the Church of Wallachia, until he came into conflict with the prince. The conflict arose because of the intransigence of the patriarch in refusing to celebrate the marriage of Radu's older sister Calpea with the Moldovan
boyar
Bogdan Logothete, who had already been married. Threatened by Radu, Nephon gathered the people, made a speech, and excommunicated the groom. He also prophesied accidents, left the patriarchal vestments on the altar and departed the church, taking to a deserted hut. In order to avoid the outcry of the people, Radu tried to placate the old man with flattering words, promises and gifts and begged him to forgive his brother-in-law, but Nephon remained adamant and left for Macedonia
, taking with him two of his students. In Macedonia he went through all the towns performing missionary preaching. On his return to Mount Athos, he appeared unrecognizable to the monks of the Monastery of Dionysiou
, who initially thought him a simple herdsman.
Nephon died in the Monastery of Dionysiou on Mount Athos in 1508. Immediately after his death he was honored as a saint in many areas and the Eastern Orthodox Church
recognized him as a saint
just nine years later, in 1517, setting his feast day on August 11. His relic
is kept in a shrine in the Monastery of Dionysiou, where there is a chapel in his name.
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
in the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and his feast day is August 11.
Life
He was born in the PeloponnesePeloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
peninsula in southern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, of mixed parentage, his mother being a noble Greek lady and his father an Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
. He was tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
d a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
at Epidaurus
Epidaurus
Epidaurus was a small city in ancient Greece, at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros : Palaia Epidavros and Nea Epidavros. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epidavros, part of the peripheral unit of Argolis...
, taking the religious name
Religious Name
A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purpose, and which is generally used in religious contexts. Different types of religious names may be in use among the clergy of a religion, as well in some cases among the laity....
of Nephon. He was involved in calligraphy and copying manuscripts. He then followed a monk named Zacharias and settled in the Monastery of the Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
in Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
. When Zacharias was elected Archbishop of Ohrid, Nephon went to Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
and there he was ordained a hieromonk
Hieromonk
Hieromonk , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholicism....
. In 1482 he was elected Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
and at the end of 1486 he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople, supported by the wealthy rulers of Wallachia, who thus made their entry in the history of external influences on the Patriarchate's election process.
After eighteen months a scandal arose, which led to Nephon's removal. Specifically, the previous Patriarch Symeon I
Patriarch Symeon I of Constantinople
Symeon I of Trebizond was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople three times: for a short time in 1466, from 1471 to 1475 and from 1482 to 1486. In 1484 he presided over the Synod of Constantinople of 1484 which repudiated the Union of Florence.-Life:...
died without making his will. İşkender Bey, one of the sons of Symeon's main sponsor, George Amiroutzes
George Amiroutzes
George Amiroutzes was a Pontic Greek Renaissance scholar and philosopher.He was born in Trebizond, lived and taught in Italy and eventually died in Constantinople. He is considered as a controversial figure of the late Byzantine era...
, had converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and was at the time the treasurer of the Sultan. He requested that all the inheritance of Symeon, which included also ecclesiastic items, should pass to the Sultan's treasury. To avoid this, Nephon pretended that a nephew of the deceased patriarch was the legitimate heir, finding three monks that bore false witness. After discovering the truth, the Sultan Bayezid II
Bayezid II
Bayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...
confiscated the property of Symeon, punished the clergy involved in the scandal, and exiled Nephon. Nephon was exiled to some island in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
off Sozopol
Sozopol
Sozopol is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the Apollonia art and film festival that is named after one of the town's ancient names.The busiest times of the year...
and was deposed in the first months of 1488. According to scholar Steven Runciman
Steven Runciman
The Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...
, Nephon was a foolish and unsatisfactory Patriarch.
In summer 1497 Nephon was elected for the second time to the patriarchal throne, always with the support of Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
, but his reign lasted only until August 1498 when he was overthrown by the young Joachim I
Patriarch Joachim I of Constantinople
Joachim I was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1498 to 1502 and for a short time in 1504.-Life:Concerning the early life of Joachim before he became Patriarch of Constantinople, we know that he was Metropolitan of Drama and that he was young, not particularly learned but very able in...
, who was supported by Constantine II of Georgia
Constantine II of Georgia
Constantine II , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Georgia since 1478. Early in the 1490s, he had to recognise the independence of his rival rulers of Imereti and Kakheti, and to confine his power to Kartli....
. Nephon was sentenced to life imprisonment and exiled to Adrianople.
So great was the reputation of Nephon that the Voivode of Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
Radu IV the Great bowed down when he went to visit the jailed patriarch. Shortly after Radu IV obtained bail for Nephon from the Ottoman Sultan. Nephon moved to Wallachia, where he was given a warm welcome by the clergy and laity and where he immediately ordained two bishops. In 1502 the Holy Synod
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...
elected him Patriarch of Constantinople for the third time and sent emissaries to Wallachia to inform him, however Nephon resolutely refused the appointment and did not return to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.
Between 1503 and 1505, Nephon de facto led the Church of Wallachia, until he came into conflict with the prince. The conflict arose because of the intransigence of the patriarch in refusing to celebrate the marriage of Radu's older sister Calpea with the Moldovan
Moldovans
Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova...
boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
Bogdan Logothete, who had already been married. Threatened by Radu, Nephon gathered the people, made a speech, and excommunicated the groom. He also prophesied accidents, left the patriarchal vestments on the altar and departed the church, taking to a deserted hut. In order to avoid the outcry of the people, Radu tried to placate the old man with flattering words, promises and gifts and begged him to forgive his brother-in-law, but Nephon remained adamant and left for Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
, taking with him two of his students. In Macedonia he went through all the towns performing missionary preaching. On his return to Mount Athos, he appeared unrecognizable to the monks of the Monastery of Dionysiou
Dionysiou monastery
Dionysiou monastery is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece in southwest part of Athos peninsula. The monastery ranks fifth in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries...
, who initially thought him a simple herdsman.
Nephon died in the Monastery of Dionysiou on Mount Athos in 1508. Immediately after his death he was honored as a saint in many areas and the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
recognized him as a saint
Glorification
-Catholicism:For the process by which the Roman Catholic Church or Anglican Communion grants official recognition to someone as a saint, see canonization.-Eastern Orthodox Church:...
just nine years later, in 1517, setting his feast day on August 11. His relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
is kept in a shrine in the Monastery of Dionysiou, where there is a chapel in his name.
Other sources
- Προκοπίου Τσιμάνη, Από υψηλή σκοπιά οι Πατριάρχαι Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Athens 1981, τόμ. Α΄, σελ. 105-109
External links
- Historia politica et patriarchica Constantinopoleos, Cap X: P. Nipho, (trans. Martin Crusius, 1584) Main primary source. and
- St Niphon the Patriarch of Constantinople of Mt Athos Orthodox iconIconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
and synaxarion