1. Biographical data

The later Ecumenical Patriarch Parthenios IV, the so-called Mogilalos or Choumchoumis, must have been born in the first half of the 17th century and is of unknown origin.¹ He might have been from Adrianople, since it is reported that he remained in the city after his second and third patriarchal term. He must also have retired there after his final dismissal from the patriarchal throne and until the end of his life (end of the 17th century).

2. Activity

He appears as a public figure after his election as the metropolitan of Prousa in January 1655 and he ascended to the patriarchal throne on 1st May 1657. His first patriarchal term ends in June 1662, when he was sent back to his previous office. Later, however, he left the diocese of Prousa and settled at Wallachia from where he returned to Constantinople (Istanbul) to resume the patriarchal throne on 21st October 1665. With his second deposition from the patriarchal throne in September 1667 he was exiled to Tenedos, from where a few months later he was recalled and was appointed as the metropolitan of Proilabos, whereas later he settled at Adrianople becoming the metropolitan of Tirnovo “eis zoarkeian”. He ascended to the patriarchal throne for a third time in March 1671, after having to pay 20,000 florins and remained there until October of the same year. With the end of this third term he was replaced by Dionysios IV and was exiled to Cyprus, from where, however, he was later allowed to return to Adrianople. After managing to ascend to the patriarchal throne for a fourth time on 1st January 1675 and until the 24th October 1676, he was finally retired as the “eis zoarkeian” metropolitan of Anchialos.

3. Evaluation

Although his activity and work is largely unknown, Parthenios was nevertheless an active, agile and leading personality, since he managed to ascend to the patriarchal throne four times and to be the protagonist in the ecclesiastical issues for twenty years. The political framework of his continuous ascends and depositions is not known, neither the people which occasionally supported or fought him. During the later phase of his career he must have been the opponent of the distinguished patriarch Dionysios IV.

It is a fact that Parthenios raised the regulated gift (peşkeş) to the amount of 20,000 florins, which he paid for his third ascent in 1671. His relation with the area of Asia Minor lies in the fact that he served as a metropolitan of Prousa before his election as a patriarch, but also even after his deposition. Due to his relation with this city he took care for the restoration and decoration of the church of St George, which from then onwards became the cathedral of the city of Prousa.²