He was born in the
Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece to an
Albanian father and a
Greek mother. He was
tonsured a
monk at
Epidaurus, taking the
religious name of
Nephon. He was involved in calligraphy and copying manuscripts. He then followed a monk named Zacharias and settled in the Monastery of the
Theotokos in
Ohrid. When Zacharias was elected
Archbishop of Ohrid, Nephon went to
Mount Athos and there he was ordained a
hieromonk. In 1482 he was elected
Metropolis of Thessaloniki and at the end of 1486 he was elected Patriarch of Constantinople, supported by the wealthy
Prince of Wallachia,
Vlad Călugărul, who thus inaugurated Wallachian participation in the history of external influences on the Patriarchate's election process. After eighteen months a scandal arose, which led to Nephon II's removal. Specifically, the previous patriarch,
Symeon I of Constantinople, died without making his will. İşkender Bey, one of the sons of Symeon's main sponsor,
George Amiroutzes, had converted to
Islam and was at the time the treasurer of the Sultan. He requested that all the inheritance of Symeon I, which included also ecclesiastic items, should pass to the Sultan's treasury. To avoid this, Nephon II pretended that a nephew of the deceased patriarch was the legitimate heir, finding three monks that bore false witness. After discovering the truth, Sultan
Bayezid II confiscated the property of Symeon I, punished the clergy involved in the scandal, and exiled Nephon II. Nephon II was exiled to some island in the
Black Sea off
Sozopol and was deposed in the first months of 1488. According to scholar
Steven Runciman, Nephon II was a foolish and unsatisfactory patriarch. In summer 1497 Nephon II was elected for the second time to the patriarchal throne, always with the support of the Wallachian ruler
Radu IV the Great, but his reign lasted only until August 1498 when he was overthrown by the young
Joachim I of Constantinople, who was supported by king
Constantine II of Georgia. Nephon II was sentenced to life imprisonment and exiled to
Adrianople. So great was the reputation of Nephon II that the Wallachian ruler Radu IV bowed down when he went to visit the jailed patriarch. Shortly after Radu obtained bail for Nephon II from the
Ottoman Sultan. Nephon II moved to Wallachia, where he was given a warm welcome by the clergy and laity and where he immediately ordained two bishops. In 1502 the
Holy Synod elected him Patriarch of Constantinople for the third time and sent emissaries to
Wallachia to inform him, however Nephon II resolutely refused the appointment and did not return to Constantinople. Between 1503 and 1505, Nephon II
de facto led the
Church of Wallachia, until he came into conflict with the Prince. The conflict arose because of the intransigence of the patriarch in refusing to celebrate the marriage of Radu's older sister Calpea with the
Moldovan boyar Bogdan Logothete, who had already been married. Threatened by Radu, Nephon II gathered the people, made a speech, and
excommunicated the groom. He also prophesied accidents, left the patriarchal vestments on the altar and departed the church, taking to a deserted hut. In order to avoid the outcry of the people, Radu tried to placate the old man with flattering words, promises and gifts and begged him to forgive his brother-in-law, but Nephon II remained adamant and left for
Macedonia, taking with him two of his students. In Macedonia, he went through all the towns performing missionary preaching. On his return to Mount Athos, he appeared unrecognisable to the monks of the
Monastery of Dionysiou, who initially thought him a simple herdsman. Nephon II died in the
Monastery of Dionysiou on
Mount Athos in 1508. Immediately after his death, he was honored as a saint in many areas and the
Eastern Orthodox Church recognised him as a saint just nine years later, in 1517, setting his feast day on 11 August. His
relic is kept in a shrine in the Monastery of Dionysiou, where there is a chapel in his name. == Notes and references ==