Meletius II of Constantinople

Meletius II of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
ChurchChurch of Constantinople
DioceseConstantinople
SeeEcumenical Patriarchate
Installed5 November 1768
Term ended11 April 1769
PredecessorSamuel of Constantinople
SuccessorTheodosius II of Constantinople
Personal details
Born
Died5 January 1780
Constantinople
DenominationEastern Orthodox Church
OccupationEcumenical Patriarch

Meletius II of Constantinople (Greek: Μελέτιος; died 5 January 1780) served as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople during the period 1768–1769.

He was born in Tenedos. From 1750 until 1768, he served as metropolitan bishop of Larissa and then was elected Ecumenical Patriarch. During the uprising of 1769, he was dismissed and was exiled to Mytilene. In 1775, with permission of the Sultan Abdul Hamid I, he returned to Tenedos and in 1777 to Constantinople, where he died destitute in 1780.

He was probably buried on Tenedos. In the late 20th century, his fragmentary tombstone was discovered in the garden of North Bank, a mansion in Muswell Hill, London, where it may have been taken as a souvenir in the 19th century. In 2013, the stone was returned to Constantinople, in the custody of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Chrysostomides, Julian; Clogg, Richard; Dendrinos, Charalambos (2017). "The tombstone of an Ecumenical Patriarch in Muswell Hill, London, Meletios II (1700–1780, r. 1768–1769)". Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 41 (2): 229–238.
  2. ^ Clogg, Richard; Dendrinos, Charalambos (2018). "A newly discovered photograph of the tombstone of Patriarch Meletios II". Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 42 (1): 184.

Bibliography

Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
1768 – 1769
Succeeded by