Hierarch 16th century

Saint Niphon Patriarch of Constantinople

c. 1418 – 1508

Also known as Niphon II

A monk who became Patriarch of Constantinople and endured repeated exile, later serving the Church in Wallachia and revered for pastoral holiness.

Feast Day

August 11

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Niphon, Patriarch of Constantinople

Life

Saint Niphon (also spelled Nephon) was a Greek monk and hierarch of the post-Byzantine era who served three times as Patriarch of Constantinople in the closing decades of the fifteenth century. Born in the Peloponnese and baptized Nicholas, he became a monk and ascetic before his elevation to the patriarchal throne, which he held under the difficult conditions of Ottoman rule. His tenure was repeatedly interrupted by deposition and exile.

Beyond Constantinople, Niphon is especially remembered for his work reorganizing the Church in Wallachia at the invitation of its prince, and for his later years of hidden monastic humility on Mount Athos at the Monastery of Dionysiou, where he reposed. He was glorified as a saint in 1517, and his relics became a focus of veneration in both Athos and Romania. His feast is kept on August 11.

Timeline 9 moments Read Hide

c. 1418 Birth in the Peloponnese Born in the Peloponnese of southern Greece and baptized Nicholas. The sources describe a Greek mother and an Albanian father; the OCA names his parents Manuel and Maria.
Early life Monastic tonsure and formation Tonsured a monk at Epidaurus under his elder Anthony, taking the name Niphon (Nephon). He travelled with the Elder Zacharias and for a time settled at a monastery of the Theotokos in Ohrid.
Before patriarchate Mount Athos and Thessaloniki He went to Mount Athos, where he occupied himself with the copying of books and visited several monasteries, being ordained deacon and priest. He was made Metropolitan of Thessaloniki before his elevation to Constantinople.
1486–1488 First patriarchate Elected Patriarch of Constantinople with support from Wallachia. He was deposed in 1488 and sent into exile.
1497–1498 Second patriarchate Elected a second time with the backing of the Wallachian ruler Radu the Great, he was again overthrown and exiled, the sources placing his exile at Adrianople.
1502 Third election declined Elected a third time by the Holy Synod, he refused the appointment and did not return to Constantinople.
c. 1503–1505 Mission to Wallachia At the request of Prince Radu, he was named Archbishop of the Wallachians and reorganized the Church there. After rebuking and publicly excommunicating the prince over a bigamous marriage, he departed Wallachia.
1508 Repose at Dionysiou He reposed at about ninety years of age at the Monastery of Dionysiou on Mount Athos, where in his final years he had concealed his patriarchal rank and taken the lowliest position.
1517 Glorification Glorified as a saint about nine years after his death; the OCA records that Patriarch Theoleptos formally glorified him on August 16, 1517, establishing his feast on August 11.

Contributions & Legacy

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Patriarch under Ottoman Rule

Niphon's patriarchate fell within the precarious period after the fall of Constantinople, when the Ecumenical throne depended on Ottoman sanction and the patronage of Orthodox princes beyond the empire. He served three separate terms, generally dated 1486–1488 and 1497–1498, with a third election in 1502.

His first elevation came with the support of Wallachia, and his second with the backing of the Wallachian ruler Radu the Great. Each tenure ended in deposition: he was banished in 1488, and after his second term he was again removed and exiled, the sources naming Adrianople as the place of his exile. When the Holy Synod elected him a third time in 1502, he declined to resume the office and did not return to the capital.

Reorganization of the Church in Wallachia

At the invitation of the Wallachian prince, who obtained his release from the Sultan, Niphon was named Archbishop of the Wallachians and undertook the reorganization of the Church in that land. His work there is the reason for his enduring veneration in Romania.

His relationship with the prince broke down over a marriage the saint judged uncanonical: the sources relate that he publicly rebuked and excommunicated the ruler for permitting a bigamous union, after which he departed from Wallachia.

Hidden Years and Repose on Athos

After his depositions Niphon withdrew to Mount Athos, dwelling at Vatopedi and then at the Monastery of Dionysiou (dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner). There he concealed his patriarchal dignity and accepted the humblest tasks of the community.

He reposed at Dionysiou in 1508 at about ninety years of age. The principal sources give August 11, 1508 as the date of his repose, while the OCA records September 3, 1508; in either reckoning his feast is kept on August 11.

Relics & Shrines

His relics are preserved at the Monastery of Dionysiou on Mount Athos, where a chapel bears his name. Portions of his relics — by tradition his skull and a hand — were sent to Wallachia early in the sixteenth century as a blessing for its people.

In Romania these relics were kept at the Curtea de Arges monastery, relocated to Craiova in 1949, and moved in 2009 to the Cathedral of the Ascension of the Lord at Targoviste.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints