Gregory III of Constantinople

Gregory III of Constantinople
Saint; Gregory III of Constantinople
	Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Church	Church of Constantinople
In office	1443–1451
Predecessor	Metrophanes II of Constantinople
Successor	Athanasius II of Constantinople
Personal details
Born	Unknown; Crete, Kingdom of Candia
Died	1459; Rome, Papal States
Denomination	Eastern Orthodoxy
Sainthood
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Title as Saint	Wonderworker
Canonized	1459; Papal State; by Pope Nicholas V
Patronage	Roman Catholic-Eastern Orthodox Reunification

Patriarch Gregory III, surnamed Mammis or Μammas (? – 1459) was Ecumenical Patriarch within the Eastern Orthodox Church during the period 1443–1450. He was prominent in unsuccessful initiatives toward reunification with the Roman Catholic Church, which led to his quitting his post as Patriarch.

Name

Few things are known about his life and his patriarchate. Not even his surname is certain, with the names Mammis or Mammas being probably mocking appellations. In the generally unreliable Chronicum Majus of George Sphrantzes, it is recorded that he came from Crete, and that his real name was Melissenos. In other works he is referred to as Melissenos-Strategopoulos.

Church career

He was tonsured as a monk in ca. 1420, and is considered to have been the confessor of Emperor John VIII Palaiologos.[1] He was a supporter of the Union with the Roman Catholic Church. He played a very active role in the theological discussions. He participated in the preliminary negotiations with Rome at the Council of Basle and later accompanied Patriarch Joseph II to the Council of Ferrara-Florence, where he also represented Philotheus of Alexandria. He was elected Patriarch after the death of the also-unionist Patriarch Metrophanes II.

Gregory did his best to reconcile monks, the church hierarchy, and common people to the agreement reached at Ferrara-Florence, but in vain. He was opposed by George Scholarios and John Eugenikos, who wrote extensively against the Council. Leading anti-Unionist clergy refused to pray for the Emperor in their churches. In 1450, the tension in ecclesiastical circles grew so tense that Gregory left his post and arrived in Rome in August 1451.[2] He was cordially received by Pope Nicholas V, who aided him financially. Pro-unionists in the Latin-occupied areas of Greece continued to consider him the legitimate patriarch of Constantinople.

Legacy

Gregory died in 1459 in Rome. He was honoured as saint and wonder-worker by the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote two dissertations about the confutation of the works of the anti-unionist Bishop Mark Eugenikos, and one on the provenance of the Holy Spirit. Some of his letters have been preserved, while three further theological treatises, On the unleavened bread, On the Primacy of the Pope and On the Heavenly Beatitude, remain unpublished.

References

Προκοπίου Τσιμάνη, Από υψηλή σκοπιά οι Πατριάρχαι Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Αθήνα 1981, τόμ. Α΄, σελ. 55
Nicol, Donald M. (1993). The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453 (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 371f. ISBN 0-521-43384-3.

Sources

Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Metrophanes II	Patriarch of Constantinople 1443–1450	Succeeded by Athanasius II
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Francesco Condulmer	— TITULAR — Latin Patriarch of Constantinople 1453–1459	Succeeded by Isidore of Kiev

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[1] Προκοπίου Τσιμάνη, Από υψηλή σκοπιά οι Πατριάρχαι Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Αθήνα 1981, τόμ. Α΄, σελ. 55

[2] Nicol, Donald M. (1993). The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453 (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 371f. ISBN 0-521-43384-3.

Bishops of Byzantium and Patriarchs of Constantinople
Bishops of Heraclea/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