Ecumenical Patriarch Cyril V of Constantinople
| Cyril V | |
|---|---|
| Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
 |
|
| Church | Church of Constantinople |
| In office | 28 Sept 1748 – end May 1751 7 Sept 1752 – 16 Jan 1757 |
| Predecessor |
Paisius II Paisius II |
| Successor |
Paisius II Callinicus IV |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 27 July 1775 Mount Athos |
| Previous post | Metropolitan of Nicomedia |
Cyril V Karakallos (Greek: Κύριλλος Ε΄ Καράκαλλος) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two periods from 1748 to 1751 and from 1752 to 1757.
A controversial figure, often blamed for his ideas about the baptism, in 1755 he issued the Oros, a canonical document which, superseding the previous use of accepting Christian converts by Chrismation, stated that all non-Orthodox (including Catholic) baptisms were not valid and all converts needed to be re-baptized.
Cyril was born in Dimitsana, in the Peloponnese. Still young, he was taken captive during the Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–1718) and after his release he went to Patmos where he became a monk. In Patmos he also continued his studies but he was expelled by the school for behavior issues before graduation.
In 1737 he was appointed Metropolitan of Meleniko and in 1745 he was promoted to the See of Nicomedia. On 28 September 1748 he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople for the first time in place of Paisius II, even if some days before he had sworn to Paisius that he would not try to depose him.
As Patriarch Cyril had three priorities: the recovery of the patriarchal finances, the fight against Catholic positions and the instruction of the monks. To improve the finances he raised taxes on the metropolitan bishops and relieved the little parishes: this action was quite successful but made him unpopular among the bishops. He strongly supported the need to re-baptise all converts, and especially women, because he considered the Armenian and Catholic baptisms as not valid. These positions created discontent among the metropolitans, who deposed him in May 1751 and reinstalled the moderate Paisius II in his place. Cyril retired on island of Halki, near Istanbul.
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