Photios II.

Photios II. (Also Fotios ), (* 1874 on the Prince Islands (Adalar) as Dimitrios Maniatis ; † December 29, 1935 in Istanbul ) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1929 to 1935 .

Life

After completing his basic training, he attended the Zarifeio University in Philippopolis in Bulgaria . He then studied theology in Athens and philosophy in Munich . In 1902 he was ordained a deacon . He then returned to Plovdiv. From 1906 to 1914 he was exarch of Philippopolis . In 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, he was forced to leave Bulgaria for Greece and one year later he became auxiliary bishop of Eirinoupolis . Photios II spoke five languages ​​( Greek , Turkish , French , German and Bulgarian ).

On October 7, 1929, he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople by the Holy Synod and solemnly enthroned as the head of honor of Orthodox Christianity. During his patriarchy, the relationship between Greece and Turkey improved significantly. In 1931, during a political thaw, the Greek Prime Minister Venizelos paid his respects in Phanar. On this occasion, the Turkish President Ataturk officially addressed him with the title of patriarch, although the authorities of the republic do not actually recognize this title.

By appointing the later Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras I (originally Aristocles Spyrou) as Archbishop of North and South America based in New York, he tried to solve the problems of the Orthodox Church in America. Photios II died on December 29, 1935 at the age of 61. Metropolitan Benjamin Christodoulou ( Patriarch Benjamin I ) was elected as his successor .

predecessor	Office	successor
Vasilios III.	Patriarch of Constantinople Opel 1929 - 1935	Benjamin I.