Patriarch Raphael II of Constantinople
Encyclopedia
Raphael II was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1603 to 1607.
when, in March 1603, he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch. During his patriarchate, he addressed the regulation of many ecclesiastical matters and issued a number of standard provisions. The clashes with the previous Patriarch Neophytus II caused many problems in the Church, to the point that Cyril Lucaris
, in a letter to the Bishop of Heraclea Dionysius, wrote that "... Raphael ruled the Patriarchate as a tyrant for more than four years ...".
Raphael showed interest in a possible union with the Western Church and he began a secret correspondence with the Pope. He remained Patriarch until October 1607, when he was forcibly deposed by Sultan Ahmed I and suffered a violent death in exile.
Life
Raphael was Bishop of MithymnaMithymna
Mithymna is a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit. The second most important town of the island, it is located NE of Eressos, N of Plomari and NW of...
when, in March 1603, he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch. During his patriarchate, he addressed the regulation of many ecclesiastical matters and issued a number of standard provisions. The clashes with the previous Patriarch Neophytus II caused many problems in the Church, to the point that Cyril Lucaris
Cyril Lucaris
Cyril Lucaris born Constantine Lukaris or Loucaris was a Greek prelate and theologian, and a native of Candia, Crete . He later became the Greek Patriarch of Alexandria as Cyril III and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople as Cyril I...
, in a letter to the Bishop of Heraclea Dionysius, wrote that "... Raphael ruled the Patriarchate as a tyrant for more than four years ...".
Raphael showed interest in a possible union with the Western Church and he began a secret correspondence with the Pope. He remained Patriarch until October 1607, when he was forcibly deposed by Sultan Ahmed I and suffered a violent death in exile.