Nephon II of Constantinople | |
|---|---|
| Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
 Fresco depicting Nephon II (in the middle) | |
| Church | Church of Constantinople |
| In office | Late 1486 – early 1488 1497 – 1498 Spring 1502 |
| Predecessor | Symeon I of Constantinople Maximus IV of Constantinople Joachim I of Constantinople |
| Successor | Dionysius I of Constantinople Joachim I of Constantinople Pachomius I of Constantinople |
| Previous post | Metropolitan of Thessaloniki |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Died | (1508-08-11)11 August 1508 |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 11 August |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
Nephon II of Constantinople (Nifon II (Greek:Νήφων;Albanian:Nifoni; died 11 August 1508), bornNicholas (Νικόλαος), wasEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople three times: from 1486 to 1488, from 1497 to 1498 and for a short time in 1502.[1] He is honored as a saint in theEastern Orthodox Church and hisfeast day is 11 August.[2]
He was born in thePeloponnese peninsula in southern Greece to anAlbanian father and aGreek mother.[3] He wastonsured amonk atEpidaurus, taking thereligious name ofNephon. He was involved in calligraphy and copying manuscripts. He then followed a monk named Zacharias and settled in the Monastery of theTheotokos inOhrid. When Zacharias was electedArchbishop of Ohrid, Nephon went toMount Athos and there he was ordained ahieromonk. In 1482 he was electedMetropolis of Thessaloniki and at the end of 1486 he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople,[4] supported by the wealthyPrince of Wallachia,Vlad Călugărul, who thus inaugurated Wallachian participation in the history of external influences on the Patriarchate's election process.[5]: 195
After eighteen months a scandal arose, which led to Nephon II's removal. Specifically, the previous patriarch,Symeon I of Constantinople, died without making his will. İşkender Bey, one of the sons of Symeon's main sponsor,George Amiroutzes, had converted toIslam and was at the time the treasurer of the Sultan.[6] He requested that all the inheritance of Symeon I, which included also ecclesiastic items, should pass to the Sultan's treasury. To avoid this, Nephon II pretended that a nephew of the deceased patriarch was the legitimate heir, finding three monks that bore false witness. After discovering the truth, SultanBayezid II confiscated the property of Symeon I, punished the clergy involved in the scandal, and exiled Nephon II.[7][3] Nephon II was exiled to some island in theBlack Sea offSozopol and was deposed in the first months of 1488. According to scholarSteven Runciman, Nephon II was a foolish and unsatisfactory patriarch.[5]: 198
In summer 1497 Nephon II was elected for the second time to the patriarchal throne, always with the support of the Wallachian rulerRadu IV the Great,[5]: 195 but his reign lasted only until August 1498 when he was overthrown by the youngJoachim I of Constantinople, who was supported by kingConstantine II of Georgia.[5]: 198 Nephon II was sentenced to life imprisonment and exiled toAdrianople.
So great was the reputation of Nephon II that the Wallachian ruler Radu IV bowed down when he went to visit the jailed patriarch. Shortly after Radu obtained bail for Nephon II from theOttoman Sultan. Nephon II moved to Wallachia, where he was given a warm welcome by the clergy and laity and where he immediately ordained two bishops. In 1502 theHoly Synod elected him Patriarch of Constantinople for the third time and sent emissaries toWallachia to inform him, however Nephon II resolutely refused the appointment and did not return to Constantinople.[4]
Between 1503 and 1505, Nephon IIde facto led theChurch of Wallachia, until he came into conflict with the Prince.[8] The conflict arose because of the intransigence of the patriarch in refusing to celebrate the marriage of Radu's older sister Calpea with theMoldovanboyar Bogdan Logothete, who had already been married. Threatened by Radu, Nephon II gathered the people, made a speech, andexcommunicated 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 II remained adamant and left forMacedonia, 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 unrecognisable to the monks of theMonastery of Dionysiou, who initially thought him a simple herdsman.
Nephon II died in theMonastery of Dionysiou onMount Athos in 1508. Immediately after his death, he was honored as a saint in many areas and theEastern Orthodox Churchrecognised him as a saint just nine years later, in 1517, setting his feast day on 11 August. Hisrelic is kept in a shrine in the Monastery of Dionysiou, where there is a chapel in his name.
| Eastern Orthodox Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Symeon I (3) | Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 1486 – 1488 | Succeeded by Dyonysius I (2) |
| Preceded by | Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 1497 – 1498 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 1464 – 1465 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
