Raphael II of Constantinople explained

Raphael II
Church:Church of Constantinople
Archbishop Of:Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Term Start:March 1603
Term End:October 1607
Predecessor:Matthew II
Successor:Neophytus II
Previous Post:Bishop of Mithymna
Birth Date:unknown
Death Date:after 1607

Raphael II (Greek, Modern (1453-);: {{lang|grc|Ραφαήλ, Rafail; died after 1607) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1603 to 1607.

Life

Raphael was Bishop of Mithymna when, in March 1603, he was elected Ecumenical Patriarch. 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. He remained Patriarch until October 1607, when he was forcibly deposed by Sultan Ahmed I and suffered a violent death in exile.