Jeremias II

Jeremias II (born c. 1530, Anchialos, Ottoman Empire [now Pomorie, Bulg.]—died 1595, Constantinople [now Istanbul]) was the patriarch of Constantinople and one of the most capable leaders of the Greek Orthodox church. Elected patriarch in 1572 by popular acclaim, Jeremias immediately instituted a reform by disciplining the clergy and prosecuting simony (the sale and purchase of ecclesiastical offices). Having irritated the Holy Synod, the council of bishops, by his zeal, he was deposed in 1579....