Mark II of Constantinople | |
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Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
Church | Church of Constantinople |
In office | Autumn 1465 – Autumn 1466 |
Predecessor | Gennadius II of Constantinople[1] |
Successor | Symeon I of Constantinople[1] |
Personal details | |
Died | After 1467 |
Denomination | Eastern Orthodoxy |
Mark II of Constantinople (Greek:Μᾶρκος Ξυλοκαράβης;Bulgarian:Марк Ксилокарав; died after 1467) wasEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1465 to 1466.[1] In 1467 he becameArchbishop of Ohrid, a post he held until his death.
Concerning the early life of Mark our main source is a document of theSenate of Venice dated 26 June 1466, which orders the Venetian government inCrete to prevent Mark and his father in case they tried to seek refuge on the island. From this document scholars, such as Laurent,[2] deduce that in June 1466 Mark II was actually Patriarch, that he and his family had previously been in Crete and that they opposed the East-West Union of Churches established in theCouncil of Florence and supported by theRepublic of Venice.
Mark becameMetropolitan ofAdrianople in 1464,[3] and in autumn 1465 (or early 1466) he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople with the support oflayarchons such as theChartophylaxGeorge Galesiotes and the Grand Ecclesiarch (i.e. HeadSacristan) Manuel (the future PatriarchMaximus III of Constantinople), as well as the secretary of theSultan Demetrios Kyritzes.[2] On the other hand, it is known that some bishops refused to commemorate him during theDivine Liturgy, as a sign that they did not recognise him as patriarch, probably accusing him ofsimony.
Mark II clashed mainly with the faction composed of the nobles of the formerEmpire of Trebizond who were forced to move toConstantinople after Trebizond's fall to the Ottomans in 1461. This faction supported its own candidate for the patriarchal throne, the future PatriarchSymeon I of Constantinople.[4] Symeon was successful in obtaining the throne, giving 2000 pieces of gold as a present to theOttoman government, thus beginning asimoniac practice that marked the history of the Patriarchate of Constantinople for the following centuries.[4] According to Laurent however,[2] who places the patriarchate of Mark II after the one of Symeon I, it was Mark II that bought the patriarchal office paying 2000 pieces of gold.
Whichever the cause, Mark II was deposed in humiliation from the throne,[5] facinglapidation in autumn 1466 or early 1467. However, he was soon rehabilitated and appointed by SultanMehmed II asArchbishop of Ohrid.[3] The Archbishopric of Ohrid was at the time the semi-autonomous main religious center of theOttoman Bulgaria. The date of death of Mark II is not known.
There is no consensus among scholars concerning the chronology of Mark II's reign.
Many scholars, such as Kiminas (2009),[6] Runciman (1985),[4] Grumel (1958)[7] and Bishop Germanos of Sardeis (1933–1938)[8], as well as the official website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,[5] follow the chronicles ofDorotheos of Monemvasia and place the reign of Mark II beforeSymeon I of Constantinople, even if with some slightly different suggestions about the precise dates of the reign, however generally in the range from 1465 to 1467.
Laurent (1968),[2] followed by Podskalsky (1988),[9] believes that the clashes with Symeon I happened when Mark II was still Metropolitan of Adrianople, and place Symeon I's reign before Mark II's. For a comparison of the main proposals, see theList of Patriarchs of Constantinople. Laurent alone suggests a second short patriarchate of Mark after the first reign ofDionysius I of Constantinople at end 1471.
Eastern Orthodox Church titles | ||
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Preceded by Gennadius II (3) | Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 1465 – 1466 | Succeeded by |