Raphael II of Constantinople
Raphael II (Greek: Ραφαήλ, Rafail; died after 1607) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1603 to 1607.[1] LifeRaphael was Bishop of Mithymna when, in March 1603, he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch.[2] During his patriarchate, he addressed the regulation of many ecclesiastical matters and issued a number of standard provisions. The clashes with the previous Patriarch Neophytus II caused many problems in the Church, to the point that Cyril Lucaris, in a letter to the Bishop of Heraclea Dionysius, wrote that "... Raphael ruled the Patriarchate as a tyrant for more than four years ...". Raphael showed interest in a possible union with the Western Church and he began a secret correspondence with the Pope.[3] He remained Patriarch until October 1607, when he was forcibly deposed by Sultan Ahmed I and suffered a violent death in exile. Notes
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