15th–16th century
Saint Niphon II, Patriarch of Constantinople
A Peloponnesian monk who served three separate terms as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in the late fifteenth century.
Biography
Niphon, known in the world as Nikolaos, came from the Peloponnese and became a monk at Epidaurus; he later passed through Mount Athos and Dionysiou Monastery, where he was ordained priest, and from there was elected Metropolitan of Thessaloniki before eventually rising to the Ecumenical throne.
He served three separate terms as Patriarch of Constantinople (1486–1488, 1497–1498 and 1502), interspersed with exile in Wallachia and on Mount Athos. When summoned back to the throne a third time, he chose instead to remain at Dionysiou Monastery, where he lived an ascetic life until his death.