Patriarchal Tenure under Ottoman Rule
Jeremiah governed the Church of Constantinople during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, when the Ecumenical Patriarchate operated under Ottoman authority. Sources describe him as a man of great administrative skill who, despite a lack of formal education, strengthened the Church and worked to restore its sacred places.
Soon after his election in 1522 he traveled pastorally through Cyprus, Egypt, Sinai, and Palestine, a journey that took him away from the capital and into the territory of the other ancient patriarchates.
His most noted act of governance came in 1537, when he obtained a sultanial order halting the conversion of churches into mosques in Constantinople. The measure offered protection to the Church's buildings, but it was not confirmed by his successors and effectively ended after the death of Suleiman in 1566.
Deposition and Restoration
In the spring of 1524, while Jeremiah was in Jerusalem, clergy and notables in Constantinople deposed him and installed Joannicius I in his place. Jeremiah did not accept the move: he convened the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch in a synod at Jerusalem that excommunicated Joannicius I.
He was restored to the patriarchal throne on 24 September 1525 by order of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, beginning a second and far longer term that lasted until his death in 1546.
Canonization
Jeremiah was recognized as a saint nearly five centuries after his repose. On 10 January 2023 the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate formally canonized him, conferring the recognition of Patriarch and Holy Hierarch and fixing his annual commemoration on 13 January, the day of his death.
He is commemorated on 13 January alongside the Martyrs Hermylus and Stratonicus of Belgrade, Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Saint James, Bishop of Nisibis, and Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.
