Theophanes III of Jerusalem
Theophanes III of Jerusalem (Greek: Θεοφάνης Γ΄ Ιεροσολύμων) was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1608 to 1644.[1][2][3]
The early life of Patriarch Theophanes is largely unknown. As the successor to Sophronius IV, Theophanes continued Sophronius' defense of Orthodox rights to the Christian shrines in the Holy Lands. In 1611, with a decree from the Ottoman sultan, Theophanes was able to fend off the Armenians from taking over the celebration of the Holy Light.
Due to careless financial management by Serbian monks who lived at the Monastery of Saint Sabas, Theophanes was forced to sell holy heirlooms of value to avert surrendering the monastery and its metochion of the Archangel to the Latins and Armenians. During 1631 to 1634, the patriarch was successful in obtaining a number of firmans from Sultan Murad IV that continued those of Mehmed II and Selim I, thus fending off demands of the French ambassador in Constantinople.
In April 1619, Patriarch Theophanes traveled to Moscow to participate in the enthronement of Metropolitan Philaret as Patriarch of Moscow on June 1, 1619.[4] In August 1620, when he was returning from his visit to Moscow, Patriarch Theophanes erected a new metropolis on the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth - the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia. He consecrated Job Boretsky as the first metropolitan and also other bishops, during a stop in Kiev. These consecrations restored the Orthodox hierarchy in the area that was occupied by Uniate bishops after the Union of Brest in 1596 when Metropolitan Michael Rohoza turned to support the union.
According to Saint Raphael Hawaweeny, "Theophanes did not ordain any clergy in Jerusalem and Palestine except his compatriots, and especially his relatives. He ordained his cousin Athanasius as the Metropolitan of Bethlehem, and his kinsman Paisios as an abbot of Galta Monastery in Yash. His Patriarchate of thirty seven years was spent mainly on traveling and collecting funds. When he passed away in Constantinople in the Jerusalem Metochion which he had built for himself, he was succeeded by his kinsman Paisios".[5]
Patriarch Theophanes reposed in 1644.
References
[edit]- ^ Google Books website, Arab Orthodox Christians Under the Ottomans 1516-1831 (Appendix: Patriarchs and the Sultans), by Constantin Alexandrovich Panchenko
- ^ Jerusalem Patriarchate website, Apostolic Succession section
- ^ Orthodox History website, Jerusalem Wasn’t Really Autocephalous from 1669-1845, article by Matthew Namee dated September 28, 2021
- ^ Georges Florovsky, Ways of Russian Theology, Notes to Chapter III
- ^ Hawaweeny, Raphael (1893). An Historical Glance at the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher. Translated by Najim, Michel. California: Oakwood Publications (published 1996). pp. 12–13. ISBN 1879038315.
Sources
[edit]- This article incorporates text from Theophanes III of Jerusalem at OrthodoxWiki which is licensed under the CC-BY-SA and GFDL.
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