December 1716-1726 A.D. Jeremias III—Constantinople’s 218th; Died Mt. Athos; Long in Office by Contrast to Chaotic 61 Exchanged/Swaps in 17th
Century; Confirmed Validity of
Protestant Baptisms; Supported Russian
Orthodox
Jeremias III of Constantinople
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Jeremias III
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Church
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In office
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23 March 1716 – 19 Nov 1726
15 Sept 1732 – March 1733 |
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Predecessor
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Successor
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Personal details
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Died
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1735
Mount Athos |
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Previous post
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Bishop of Caesarea
in Cappadocia
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Jeremias
III (Greek: Ιερεμίας Γ΄, died 1735) was Ecumenical Patriarch
of Constantinople two times, in 1716–1726 and 1732–1733.
Life
Jeremias was born between 1650
and 1660[1] in the island of Patmos, where he was ordained deacon. He served as a priest in Halki and then in the Diocese ofCaesarea in Cappadocia. When his Metropolitan Cyprianus became Patriarch of Constantinople in 1707, he succeeded him as
Metropolitan of Cesarea.[2]
Jeremiah was elected Patriarch
for the first time on 23 March 1716. His first patriarchate was long compared
to the usual length of his office in that centuries, and Jeremias succeeded to
cope with two attempts of deposition, probably sprung from his support to the Russian Empire: on 1
January 1718 the Metropolitan of Pruoza, Cyril, was elected Patriarch in his
place, but Jeremias returned on the throne next 17 January, and in 1720 he was
arrested and his rival, the previous Patriarch Cyril IV, reigned from 10 to 22
January, when Jeremias was re-installed.[3] Jeremiah was finally deposed on 19 November 1726 after his clashes with the
ruler of Moldova Grigore II Ghica concerning his refusal to grant divorce to Ghica's brother, and he was
exiled to Mount Sinai.
In 1732 Jeremiah returned from
exile and on 15 September 1732 he was appointed Patriarch for the second time,[3] but after only a few months, in March 1733, he had to leave the throne
because he suffered of hemiplegia, and he
retired in Great Lavra Monastery on Mount Athos, where he
died in 1735.
Patriarchate
Asked by the Tsar Peter I of Russia about the validity of the Baptisms celebrated by Protestants, on 31
August 1718 Jeremias confirmed that, as his predecessor Cyprianus stated about
the Catholic baptism, it is not necessary to re-baptize the Protestants who joined the
Orthodox Church, the Chrismation being enough.[2]
In 1720 he got the permission
from the Sultan to rebuilt a new, larger and brighter Orthodox Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George, destroyed by fire some years before, at the
headquarters of the Patriarchate at the Fener.[4] He also reorganized the Monastery of the Transfiguration on the Princes' Islands, which was enriched with a collection of valuable pictures that had been
donated by Peter I of Russia.
In December 1723 Jeremias
approved the suppression, made in 1721 by Peter I of Russia, of Patriarchate of
Moscow and its replacement with the Most Holy Synod.[2]
After that the Melkites of Damascus elected the pro-Westerner Cyril VI Tanas as the new Patriarch of Antioch, Jeremias declared Cyril's election to be invalid,
excommunicated him, and appointed the young monk Sylvester as new Patriarch.
Jeremias consecrated Sylvester as bishop in Istanbul on October 8, 1724.[5][6] These events split the Melkite Church between the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church of Antioch.
Jeremias imposed austerity at
the expense of the Patriarchate, thus managing to reduce debt and improve its
financial situation.
Notes
1. Jump up^ Γεννάδιος Ηλιουπόλεως, «Ο
Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Ιερεμίας ο Γ'», Ορθοδοξία 25 (1950), σελ. 148 (Greek)
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c R. Aubert (2003).
"Jérémie III". Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques 28. Paris: Letouzey et Ané.
1001-1002. ISBN 2-7063-0210-0.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b Kiminas, Demetrius (2009). The Ecumenical Patriarchate. Wildside Press LLC.
p. 41,47. ISBN 978-1-4344-5876-6.
4. Jump up^ Μ.Γ.Βαρβούνη, Το Οικουμενικό
Πατριαρχείο, εκδόσεις Χελάνδιον, Αθήνα 2006, ISBN 960-87087-5-3, σελ. 23 (Greek)
5. Jump up^ Korolevsky, Cyril (1924).
"Antioche". Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques 3. Paris: Letouzey et Ané.
p. 647.
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