Germanus II of Constantinople

Germanus II Nauplius (Greek: Γερμανός Β΄ Ναύπλιος) was Patriarch of Constantinople (in exile at Nicaea) from 1223 until his death in June 1240.^[1]

He was born at Anaplous in the second half of the 12th century. At the time of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, he served as a deacon in the Hagia Sophia; following the sack of Constantinople, he retired to a monastery at Achyraous.^[1]

In 1223, he was selected by the Nicaean emperor John III Vatatzes to fill the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which had relocated there after the fall of Constantinople. Germanus assumed the patriarchal throne on 4 January 1223, and quickly proved himself a valuable ally to Vatatzes.^[1] Throughout his patriarchate, Germanus strove to re-establish his authority as the head of the politically splintered Orthodox world, all the while supporting Vatatzes' in his claim to the Byzantine imperial inheritance. Thus Germanus clashed with the prelates of Epirus for their support of the Epirote rulers, and especially the Archbishop of Ohrid, Demetrios Chomatenos, who had presided over the coronation of Theodore Komnenos Doukas as emperor at Thessalonica, directly challenging Nicaea's position. After the Epirote defeat at Klokotnitsa in 1230 however, the Epirote bishops were gradually won over; in 1232, the schism was healed with the Epirote church recognizing his authority, followed by a tour of the region by Germanus in 1238.^[1]^[2]

By contrast, Germanus was willing to bow to political realities on the issue of the Bulgarian Church, recognizing it as a junior patriarchate in 1235. In part this was the result of political necessity, as a condition for the alliance between Vatatzes and the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen II, but it was also seen a necessary move to detach the Bulgarian Church from its post-1204 submission to Rome. Similar motives lay behind his recognition of the autocephalous status of the Serbian Church.^[3]

Although a fierce critic of the perceived "errors" of the Catholic Church, and author of numerous anti-Catholic treatises,^[1] he was initially willing to a rapprochement with Rome. In 1232, he sent a group of Franciscans, with whose demeanor and desire for reconciliation he had been impressed, as envoys to the Pope. Germanus proposed the convening of a full ecumenical council, aiming at the reunion of the Churches.^[4] In response, a delegation of Franciscans and Dominicans arrived at Nicaea in 1234, but their remit was limited: they had no authority to conduct any negotiations, only to sound out the emperor and the patriarch. The Latin delegation attended a council held in Nymphaion, but it broke up in acrimony between the Greeks and Latins. The papal envoys fled back to Rome, while the Nicaeans went on to attack Constantinople.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Kazhdan (1991), p. 847
^ Angold (1999), pp. 551–552
^ Angold (1999), p. 552
^ Angold (1999), p. 553
^ Angold (1999), pp. 553–554

Sources

Angold, Michael (1999), "Byzantium in exile", in Abulafia, David (ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume V, c. 1198–c. 1300, Cambridge University Press, pp. 543–568, ISBN 0-521-36289-X
Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.

External links

Biography at the website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Template:El icon
Vougiouklaki, Penelope (2003). Γερμανός Β΄ Ναύπλιος. Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World, Eastern Mediterranean (in Greek). Foundation of the Hellenic World. Retrieved 21 June 2012.

Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Manuel I	Patriarch of Constantinople In exile at Nicaea 1223–1240	Succeeded by Methodius II

Template:Persondata

[ODB-1] Kazhdan (1991), p. 847

[2] Angold (1999), pp. 551–552

[3] Angold (1999), p. 552

[4] Angold (1999), p. 553

[5] Angold (1999), pp. 553–554

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[3]

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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