Athanasius I of Constantinople

Athanasius I of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
ChurchChurch of Constantinople
In office14 October 1289 – 16 October 1293
23 June 1303 – September 1309
PredecessorGregory II of Constantinople, John XII of Constantinople
SuccessorJohn XII of Constantinople, Nephon I of Constantinople
Personal details
Bornc. 1230
Adrianople
(modern-day Edirne, Turkey)
Died28 October 1310
Constantinople
(modern-day Istanbul, Turkey)

Athanasius I (Greek: Ἀθανάσιος; 1230 – 28 October 1310) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two terms, from 1289 to 1293 and 1303 to 1309. He was born in Adrianople and died in Constantinople. Chosen by the emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus as patriarch, he opposed the reunion of the Greek and Roman Churches and introduced an ecclesiastic reform that evoked opposition within the clergy. He resigned in 1293 and was restored in 1303 with popular support. The pro-Union clerical faction forced him into retirement in early 1310.

He is commemorated as a saint in the Orthodox Church with his feast day observed annually on 28 October.[1]

  1. ^ Great Synaxaristes: (in Greek) Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἀθανάσιος ὁ Α’ Πατριάρχης Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. 28 Οκτωβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.