Patriarch Callinicus IV of Constantinople
| Callinicus IV | |
|---|---|
| Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople | |
| Church | Church of Constantinople |
| Appointed | 16 Jan 1757 |
| Term ended | 22 July 1757 |
| Predecessor | Cyril V |
| Successor | Serapheim II |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Constantine Mavrikios |
| Born | 1713 Zagora, Greece |
| Died | 1791 (aged 77–78) Zagora, Greece |
| Previous post | Metropolitan of Brăila |
Callinicus IV (Greek: Καλλίνικος Δ΄), born Constantine Mavrikios (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυρίκιος), was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for a few months in 1757 and a writer and scholar.
Callinicus IV is sometime numbered as Callinicus III because his predecessor Callinicus, who was elected in 1726 but died before being enthroned, is sometimes not counted amongst the patriarchs.
Constantine Mavrikios (Callinicus is his religious name) was born in Zagora, Greece in 1713 and in 1728 he moved to Istanbul. In 1740 he was ordained a deacon and on 28 August 1741 he was appointed Great Protosyncellus of the Patriarchate. On 23 September 1743 he was appointed the Metropolitan Bishop of Proilavo (i.e. Brăila, in Romania), a position he kept till 1748 when he returned to Istanbul.
His years in Istanbul were marked by the polemic debate in the Orthodox community about whether converts the Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic Churches needed to be re-baptised. These communities were particularly numerous after the Ottoman–Venetian War wherein the Ottoman Empire reconquered the Venetian-ruled Peloponnese.
The supporters of the invalidity of Catholic and Armenian baptisms, and consequently of the need to re-baptize, were Patriarch Cyril V supported by some scholars such as Eugenios Voulgaris and Eustratios Argenti, and a large portion of the populace, instigated by the demagogic monk Auxentios. The opposition to re-baptism was formed by the larger part of the Metropolitans led by Callinicus. Their position was not due to compliance with the Latins, but rather that they considered the re-baptisms an innovation not envisaged by the ancient canons and contrary to the liturgical praxis.
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Wikipedia