Neophytus VII of Constantinople | |
|---|---|
| Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
| Church | Church of Constantinople |
| Diocese | Constantinople |
| See | Ecumenical Patriarchate |
| Installed | 1 May 1789 19 December 1798 |
| Term ended | 1 March 1794 17 June 1801 |
| Predecessor | Procopius of Constantinople Gregory V of Constantinople |
| Successor | Gerasimus III of Constantinople Callinicus V of Constantinople |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Died | After 1801 |
| Denomination | Eastern Orthodox Church |
Neophytus VII of Constantinople (Neophytos VII[1]Greek: Νεόφυτος; died after 1801) wasEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople during the periods 1789–1794 and 1798–1801.
Neophytus was born inSmyrna. He studied in theEvangelical School of Smyrna, where he was classmates withNicodemus the Hagiorite andAdamantios Korais. He was an especially educated man and was against the simplification of religious texts,[2] as he thought that something like that would lead to their vulgarisation.[3]
He served as greatarchdeacon of the Patriarchate and in May 1771 he was elected metropolitan bishop ofMaroneia. On 1 May 1789, he succeededProcopius of Constantinople on the Ecumenical throne, with some concerns about how canonical his election was. Even though his reign is considered worthy, he had to resign on 1 March 1794 and retired toHeybeliada and later toRhodes,Patmos andMount Athos. He was reelected Patriarch on 19 December 1798, but on 17 June 1801 he resigned again and was exiled to Mount Athos.
During his reign, the philosophy teacher Christodoulos Pamplekis was excommunicated, while theGreat School of the Nation was reconstituted and many schools were founded. With a canonical arrangement, he condemnedpantheism, while a synodic decision condemned the book "Περί συνεχούς μεταλήψεως", written by the formermetropolitan bishop of Corinth,Macarius of Corinth. He re-founded after 413 years theMetropolis of Corfu and blessed, with the permission of theSublime Porte, the newflag of the United States of the Ionian Islands in theChurch of St. George. During his lifetime, and after many discussions, the translation and publication the Canon of theEastern Orthodox Church inDemotic Greek was finally approved. Consequently, Christopher's "Κανονικόν" and Nicodemus the Hagiorite's "Πηδάλιον" were published,[4] the latter also publishing "Μέγα Ευχολόγιον" in Constantinople. With his permission,John IV of Constantinople's Canon was also published by the Patriarchal Press.
| Eastern Orthodox Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 1789 – 1794 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 1798 – 1801 | Succeeded by |