Samuel of Constantinople

His All Holiness

Samuel
His All Holiness; Samuel
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Church	Church of Constantinople
Diocese	Constantinople
See	Ecumenical Patriarchate
Installed	1x) 24 May 1763, ; 2x) 17 November 1773
Term ended	1x) 5 November 1768, ; 2x) 24 December 1774
Predecessor	Joannicius III, Theodosius II
Successor	Meletius II, Sophronius II
Personal details
Born	Skarlatos Chantzeris (Σκαρλάτος Χαντζερής); 1700; Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Died	May 10, 1775 (aged 74–75); Heybeliada
Buried	Church of Saint Nicholas, Heybeliada
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox Church
Occupation	Ecumenical Patriarch

Samuel (Greek: Σαμουήλ), lay name Skarlatos Chantzeris (Σκαρλᾶτος Χαντζερῆς; 1700 – 10 May 1775), served as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople during the periods 1763–1768 and 1773–1774.

Biography

He was born in 1700 in Istanbul. He studied in the Great School of the Nation. At a young age, he was ordained deacon, and later he became an archdeacon of the Patriarch Paisius II. He was elected metropolitan bishop of Derkoi in 1731 and Ecumenical Patriarch on 24 May 1763, even though he thought he was too old for this position.

During his patriarchy, he was occupied with the finances of the Patriarchate. He limited the expenses, restrained the fundraisers, and the procession of the "disk" five times per year and he repealed the old habit for priests and hieromonks to contribute in-kind (animals, eggs, etc.) to the Patriarchate. He reinforced education and he restored the authority of the Patriarchate. In 1767 he abolished the autocephaly of the archbishops of Peć and Ohrid, whose jurisdiction had come to include large areas of Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Albania, and Serbia, and placed them again under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

On a social level, he inveighed against the "slavery of the woman" and talked against the institution of dowry and commercial wedding.^[1] He decided to divide the patriarchal seal into four parts, three of which were given to synodic hierarchs. This way he emphasised the synodic administrative system of the Patriarchate, according to which there is shared responsibility and the arbitrariness of the Patriarch is limited.

His radical acts provoked reactions, which reached the point of forcing him to resign on 5 November 1768. He was exiled to Great Lavra of Mount Athos, but in 1770 he convinced the Ottoman government to allow him to return to his residence in Tarabya. After the resignation of Theodosius II, the Synod reelected Samuel Patriarch, against his will, on 17 November 1773.

This second patriarchy lasted about one year. During it he tried to solve the issue of the "Kollyvades", choosing a harsher stance than his predecessor. On 24 December 1774, he was exiled again to Mount Athos and later to Heybeliada, where he died on 10 May 1775. He was buried in the Church of Saint Nicholas in Heybeliada.^[2] It is rumored that the noblewoman Roxandra Karatza was Samuel's mistress.^[3]

References

^ Λόγοι πατριωτικοί απλοσύνθετοι, για τη σκλαβιά της γυναίκας και για το χαλασμό του γένους, στηλιτευτικοί της προίκας και τον εμπορικού γάμου, κηρυγμένοι στα 1767 από τον πατριάρχη Σαμουήλ Χαντζερή, φανερωμένοι στα λογοτεχνικά μας κι αποκαταστημένοι από τον Γ. Βαλέτα, έκδ. Βιβλία Πηγής, Αθήνα 1948.
^ Ακύλα Μήλλα, Ο ιερός ναός του αγίου Νικολάου
^ Σταματόπουλος Τάκης, Ο εσωτερικός αγώνας, εκδόσεις Κάλβος, τόμος Α΄, σελ. 152

Sources

[1] Λόγοι πατριωτικοί απλοσύνθετοι, για τη σκλαβιά της γυναίκας και για το χαλασμό του γένους, στηλιτευτικοί της προίκας και τον εμπορικού γάμου, κηρυγμένοι στα 1767 από τον πατριάρχη Σαμουήλ Χαντζερή, φανερωμένοι στα λογοτεχνικά μας κι αποκαταστημένοι από τον Γ. Βαλέτα, έκδ. Βιβλία Πηγής, Αθήνα 1948.

[2] Ακύλα Μήλλα, Ο ιερός ναός του αγίου Νικολάου

[3] Σταματόπουλος Τάκης, Ο εσωτερικός αγώνας, εκδόσεις Κάλβος, τόμος Α΄, σελ. 152

[1]

[2]

[3]

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

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