Maximus III of Constantinople

Maximus III
Maximus III
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Church	Church of Constantinople
Appointed	spring 1476 – 3 April 1482
Predecessor	Raphael I
Successor	Symeon I
Personal details
Born	unknown
Died	3 April 1482
Sainthood
Feast day	November 17
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church

Maximus III (Greek: Μάξιμος), born Manuel Christonymos (Μανουὴλ Χριστώνυμος; died 3 April 1482), was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1476 to his death in 1482, and a scholar. He is honoured as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his feast day is November 17.^[1]

Life

Manuel Christonymos was probably a native of the Peloponnese in Greece.

He became Grand Ecclesiarch (i.e. Head Sacristan) of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This ministry soon after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire (1453) took the functions also of the skeuophylax,^[2]^: 176 taking care of the holy treasures and relics of the Patriarchate, and in this position Manuel clashed with Patriarch Gennadius Scholarius on economical issues.^[2] Under the patronage of the secretary of the Ottoman Sultan, Demetrios Kyritzes, Manuel, together with the Great Chartophylax George Galesiotes, influenced the life of the Church of Constantinople for more than twenty years.^[3]^: 255

In 1463 he sided with Patriarch Joasaph I against the request of the politician George Amiroutzes, a Greek nobleman from the former Empire of Trebizond, to marry a second wife because it was a case of bigamy under Christian canon law. As punishment for his support of Joasaph, Manuel had his nose cut by order of Sultan Mehmed II.^[4]

In autumn 1465 (or early 1466) Manuel sponsored the election to the Patriarchate of Mark II, and later he opposed the patriarchs supported by other factions, such as Symeon of Trebizond and Dionysius I, who on 15 January 1467 stripped him and George Galesiotes of their posts in the administration of the church.^[5]

However they soon regained their influence. Manuel was successful in recovering the esteem of sultan Mehmed II,^[2] and in spring 1476 he himself was elected as Patriarch of Constantinople. He was still a lay person, so he first became a monk taking the religious name of Maximus, and the next day he received consecration as a bishop and he was enthroned as Patriarch by the Metropolitan of Heraclea.^[6] His reign ended a period of troubles for the Church in the region, and was marked by peace and consensus.^[3]^: 260

Maximus died on 3 April 1482.^[7]

His main literary work is the "Monody on the Capture of Constantinople".

Notes

^ "Maximos III". Ecumenical Patriarchate. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c Runciman, Steven (1985). The Great Church in captivity. Cambridge University Press. pp. 194–5. ISBN 978-0-521-31310-0.
^ ^a ^b Vitalien, Laurent (1968). "Les premiers patriarches de Constantinople sous la domination turque (1454-1476)". Revue des études byzantines (26): 229–263. doi:10.3406/rebyz.1968.1407.(in French)
^ Touloumakos Pantelis. "Amiroutzis, Georgios". Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
^ Petit, L. (1903). "Déposition du Patriarche Mark Xylocarvi". Revue de l'Orient Chrétien (8): 144–9.(in French)
^ B.G.Niebuhr, I.Bekker, ed. (1849) [1584]. "Historia Politica et Patriarchica Constantinopoleos". Corpus scriptorum historiae byzantinae, Volume 49. Bonn. p. 116.(in Latin)
^ Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate. Wildside Press LLC. p. 37,46. ISBN 978-1-4344-5876-6.

External links

Historia politica et patriarchica Constantinopoleos, Cap IX: P. Maximus, (trans. Martin Crusius, 1584) Primary source. (in Greek and Latin)

[EP-1] "Maximos III". Ecumenical Patriarchate. Retrieved 11 August 2011.

[Runciman-2] Runciman, Steven (1985). The Great Church in captivity. Cambridge University Press. pp. 194–5. ISBN 978-0-521-31310-0.

[Laurent-3] Vitalien, Laurent (1968). "Les premiers patriarches de Constantinople sous la domination turque (1454-1476)". Revue des études byzantines (26): 229–263. doi:10.3406/rebyz.1968.1407.(in French)

[EHW-4] Touloumakos Pantelis. "Amiroutzis, Georgios". Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor. Retrieved 17 July 2011.

[ROC-5] Petit, L. (1903). "Déposition du Patriarche Mark Xylocarvi". Revue de l'Orient Chrétien (8): 144–9.(in French)

[HC-6] B.G.Niebuhr, I.Bekker, ed. (1849) [1584]. "Historia Politica et Patriarchica Constantinopoleos". Corpus scriptorum historiae byzantinae, Volume 49. Bonn. p. 116.(in Latin)

[Kiminas-7] Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate. Wildside Press LLC. p. 37,46. ISBN 978-1-4344-5876-6.

[1]

v t e Bishops of Byzantium and Patriarchs of Constantinople
Bishops of Byzantium (Roman period, 38–330 AD)	Andrew Stachys Onesimus Polycarpus I Plutarch Sedecion Diogenes Eleutherius Felix Polycarpus II Athenodorus Euzois Laurence Alypius Pertinax Olympianus Marcus I Philadelphus Cyriacus I Castinus Eugenius I Titus Dometius Rufinus Probus Metrophanes Alexander
Archbishops of Constantinople (Roman period, 330–451 AD)	Alexander Paul I Eusebius Macedonius I Eudoxius Evagrius Demophilus Maximus I Gregory I Nectarius John I Chrysostom Arsacius Atticus Sisinnius I Nestorius Maximianus Proclus Flavian Anatolius
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Byzantine period, 451–1453 AD)	Anatolius Gennadius I Acacius Fravitta Euphemius Macedonius II Timothy I John II Epiphanius Anthimus I Menas Eutychius John III John IV Cyriacus II Thomas I Sergius I Pyrrhus Paul II Peter Thomas II John V Constantine I Theodore I George I Paul III Callinicus I Cyrus John VI Germanus I Anastasius Constantine II Nicetas I Paul IV Tarasius Nicephorus I Theodotus I Antony I John VII Methodius I Ignatios Photios I Stephen I Antony II Nicholas I Εuthymius I Stephen II Tryphon Theophylact Polyeuctus Βasil I Αntony III Nicholas II Sisinnius II Sergius II Eustathius Alexius Michael I Constantine III John VIII Cosmas I Eustratius Nicholas III John IX Leo Michael II Cosmas II Nicholas IV Theodotus II Neophytus I Constantine IV Luke Michael III Chariton Theodosius I Basil II Nicetas II Leontius Dositheus George II John X Michael IV^† Theodore II^† Maximus II^† Μanuel I^† Germanus II^† Methodius II^† Manuel II^† Arsenius^† Nicephorus II^† Germanus III Joseph I John XI Gregory II Athanasius I John XII Nephon I John XIII Gerasimus I Isaias John XIV Isidore I Callistus I Philotheus Macarius Nilus Antony IV Callistus II Matthew I Euthymius II Joseph II Metrophanes II Gregory III Athanasius II
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Ottoman period, 1453–1923 AD)	Gennadius II Isidore II Joasaph I Sophronius I Mark II Symeon I Dionysius I Raphael I Maximus III Nephon II Maximus IV Joachim I Pachomius I Theoleptus I Jeremias I Joannicius I Dionysius II Joasaph II Metrophanes III Jeremias II Pachomius II Theoleptus II Matthew II Gabriel I Theophanes I Meletius I Neophytus II Raphael II Cyril I Timothy II Gregory IV Anthimus II Cyril II Athanasius III Neophytus III Parthenius I Parthenius II Joannicius II Cyril III Paisius I Parthenius III Gabriel II Parthenius IV Dionysius III Clement Methodius III Dionysius IV Gerasimus II Athanasius IV James Callinicus II Neophytus IV Gabriel III Neophytus V Cyprianus Athanasius V Cyril IV Cosmas III Jeremias III (Callinicus III) Paisius II Seraphim I Neophytus VI Cyril V Callinicus IV (III) Seraphim II Joannicius III Samuel Meletius II Theodosius II Sophronius II Gabriel IV Procopius Neophytus VII Gerasimus III Gregory V Callinicus V (IV) Jeremias IV Cyril VI Eugenius II Anthimus III Chrysanthus Agathangelus Constantius I Constantius II Gregory VI Anthimus IV Anthimus V Germanus IV Meletius III Anthimus VI Cyril VII Joachim II Sophronius III Joachim III Joachim IV Dionysius V Neophytus VIII Anthimus VII Constantine V Germanus V Meletius IV
Patriarchs of Constantinople (Turkish period, since 1923 AD)	Gregory VII Constantine VI Basil III Photius II Benjamin Maximus V Athenagoras Demetrius Bartholomew
^† in exile at Nicaea Christianity portal

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