Meletios II.

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Patriarch Meletios II of Constantinople

Meletios II (real name: Meletios Metaxakis ; born September 21, 1871 in Parsas on Crete ; † July 28, 1935 in Alexandria ) was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria from 1926 to 1935 and previously (from 1921 to 1923) as Meletios IV. Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople .

Life

Meletios first studied in Jerusalem and was ordained a deacon in Antioch in 1891 . Until 1909 he worked for the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem .

In 1909 Meletios visited Cyprus , where he joined a Masonic Lodge . From 1910 to 1918 he was Metropolitan of Kition . After a failed attempt to become Archbishop of Cyprus, he went to Athens , where he with the help of a relative, the Prime Minister Venizelos , archbishop was from Athens. When Venizelos lost the elections the next year, Meletios was detached from his throne.

As Archbishop of Athens, Meletios visited Britain and entered into negotiations to reach an agreement with the Anglican Church . On December 17, 1921, the Greek ambassador in Washington wrote that Meletios had attended an Anglican service in his church clothing, bowed down with the Anglicans, kissed their altar , preached and blessed those present after the service was over. After his case was investigated in November 1921 by a commission convened by the Synod of the Hellenic Church , Meletios was convicted and banished from the Hellenic Church. On January 24, 1922, during the occupation of Istanbul , he ascended the throne of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, whereupon the ban was lifted in September 1922. The Anglican Bishop Charles Gore attended the Pan-Orthodox Congress convened by Meletios , sat on Meletios' right and participated in the work of the Congress. After a calendar reform had been decided in the course of the Congress , unrest broke out in which the Orthodox population of Constantinople invaded the patriarch's apartments. The famous orthodox theologian Justin Popović described Meletios as an "unhappy patriarch", "self-important modernist, reformer and founder of discord in orthodoxy". His recognition of Anglican ordination was itself condemned by the Catholic Church . In 1930 Meletios took part in the seventh Anglican Lambeth Conference .

After the proclamation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, he abdicated as Patriarch of Constantinople. In 1926 he became Patriarch of Alexandria. One of his main achievements was to put the Patriarchate of Alexandria on a new footing and to solve numerous problems that had accumulated in the 19th century.

One of his first activities was on May 15, 1930, the publication of the regulations of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. He attached great importance to the life of the metropolitans and the entire communities, the rituals, sacraments and also the legal aspects of daily life.

Meletios founded the seminary of St. Athanasios. During his time as patriarch, he directed ten metropolitans with 90 parishes, five monasteries and 107 parish priests.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alexander I. Zervoudakis, "Famous Freemasons," Masonic Bulletin, No 71, January - February, 1967, quoted in the article on Meletios on the Pravoslavie.ru website
  2. ↑ Μελέτιος Β΄ (Μεταξάκης) ( Memento of the original from February 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.grandlodge.gr @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.grandlodge.gr
  3. ↑ Μελέτιος Μεταξάκης Μητροπολίτης Κιτίου [1910-1918], [1]
  4. ↑ a b c Article about Meletios on the Pravoslavie.ru website
  5. ↑ Delimpasis, AD, Pascha of the Lord, Creation, Renewal, and Apostasy, Athens, 1985, p.661, quoted in the article on Meletios on the Pravoslavie.ru website
  6. ^ "The Julian Calendar," Orthodox Life, No. 5 1995, p. 26, quoted in the article on Meletios on the Pravoslavie.ru website
  7. ^ Encyclical on Anglican Orders , at 145, from the Oecumenical Patriarch to the Presidents of the Particular Eastern Orthodox Churches , 1922
predecessor Office successor
Kyrillos II of Cyprus Metropolitan von Kition
1910–1918 		Nicodemus Mylonas
Archbishop Theoclitos I. Metropolitan of Athens
1918–1920 		Archbishop Theoclitos I.
vacant 1918–1921 Patriarch of Constantinople
1921–1923 		Gregory VII
Photios Patriarch of Alexandria
1926 - 1935 		Nicholas V.
personal data
SURNAME Meletios II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Metaxakis, Meletios (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria (1926–1935)
DATE OF BIRTH September 21, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Parsas in Crete
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 1935
Place of death Alexandria