Theoleptus I of Constantinople (Greek:Θεόληπτος; died December 1522) wasEcumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1513 to 1522.^[1]

Theoleptus was native ofCrete orEpirus and lived as monk besidePachomius I of Constantinople, who appointed himMetropolis of Ioannina.^[2] When Pachomius I died due to poisoning, Theoleptus moved immediately toAdrianople where he found favour withSultanSelim I.^[3]: 199 After the payment of the usual fee for any patriarchal appointment, the Sultan appointed him as Patriarch of Constantinople. Afterwards Theoleptus I went toConstantinople for the formal election and enthronement in mid-1513.^[4]

In September 1520 his patron, Sultan Selim I, died, and so Theoleptus I's position was weakened. The first rumors began to arise, which later led to formal charges of leading an immoral private life. TheHoly Synod decided that he should stand for trial, but he died, in December 1522, before the judgment.^[5]

The power of the Patriarch of Constantinople increased with theOttoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517) and the consequent annexation ofSyria,Palestine andEgypt by Sultan Selim I,^{[3]: 176–177} as the Patriarchates ofAlexandria,Antioch andJerusalem were incorporated toOttoman Empire. These patriarchates retained their religious autonomy but werede facto subjected to the influence of the Patriarch of Constantinople, who was near the Sultan and was his deputy as civil ruler of allEastern Orthodox Christians in the Empire in accordance with themillet system. This influence of Constantinople increased during the next centuries, especially with regards to appointments. With the conquest of Palestine and the fall of Jerusalem in 1517 to Selim I, Theoleptus I obtained from the Sultan the right to maintain theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.^[2]

Theoleptus I established good relations since 1516 with Grand PrinceVasili III of Russia, whose mother was a niece of the lastByzantine emperor,Constantine XI Palaiologos. TheGrand Principality of Moscow became in that age the most powerful independent Orthodox kingdom. In 1518, Theoleptus I sent the scholarMaximus the Greek to Russia.^[3]: 327

In about 1520, Sultan Selim I, who desired a forced conversion of all Christians toIslam, ordered a take-over of the Christian churches because there was nofirman to protect them. Theoleptus I, thanks to his good relations with the Sultan, and thanks to a lawyer named Xenakis, was successful in opposing the order, persuading the Sultan that the churches of Constantinople surrendered during the 1453fall of Constantinople, being thus spared and retained for Christian worship. Even though no firman could be exhibited due to a fire at the Patriarchate, three oldJanissaries, who lived during the 1453 events, swore to that effect on theKoran and were believed.^[3]: 189

As Patriarch, Theoleptus I re-shaped the ecclesiastic organisation of thedioceses ofAdrianople,Samos and intoWallachia.^[2]

• Historia politica et patriarchica Constantinopoleos, Cap XVIII: Patriarch Theoleptus-1, (trans.Martin Crusius, 1584) Primary source(in Greek and Latin)

• 16th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops
• 16th-century ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople
• 1522 deaths
• Bishops of Ioannina
• 16th-century Greek clergy

• CS1 Latin-language sources (la)
• CS1 French-language sources (fr)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2025
• Pages where birth or death is being automatically determined
• Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text
• Articles containing Greek-language text
• Articles with Greek-language sources (el)
• Articles with Latin-language sources (la)
• Year of birth unknown