Agathangelus of Constantinople

Patriarch Agathangelus

Agathangelos ( Greek Πατριάρχης Αγαθάγγελος ; * 1769 near Edirne , Ottoman Empire ; † 1832 ibid) was the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople (1826-1830).

Life

He was born in a Bulgarian village near Edirne. His birth name is not known, he called himself a Bulgarian. In his early years he became a monk in the monastery of Iveron on Mount Athos and took the spiritual name Agathangelos . There he received a good theological education.

Around 1800 he became the chief priest of the Greek community in Moscow . In 1815 Agathangelus was ordained Metropolitan of Belgrade . In 1817 he took part in the election of Miloš Obrenović as Prince of Serbia. In 1821 he was involved in the Greek uprising against the Ottoman Empire and was arrested. In 1825 Agathangelos became Metropolitan of Chalcedon .

In 1826 he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople after his predecessor Chrysanthos was deposed and driven into exile. Agathangelos quickly made himself unpopular in the Greek Church. In 1827 he was asked to lobby the Sultan for the release of Greek insurgents and brought a message to Ioannis Kapodistrias , the first president of independent Greece, to submit to the Ottoman Empire again. Patriarch Agathangelos was considered strict and intransigent towards the clergy under him. He was involved in the election of the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem , which was considered bought. After financial disagreements and controversial administrative decisions, he was deposed in 1830. Agathangelus was first sent to Kayseri and from there went to Edirne, where he died in 1832,

Agathangelos mastered the Greek, Turkish, Bulgarian, Russian and French languages. He wrote several letters on theological subjects such as baptism, marriage and Myron .

literature

• Agathangelus I of Constantinople. In: Encyclopedia Papyrus Larousse Britannica. 2007, p. 152.

Web links

• Patriarch Agathangelos Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Greek)