Talk:Patriarch Cyril of Constantinople
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[edit] Cyril Lukaris, the famous Cretan patriarch
Cyril Lukaris, the famous Cretan patriarch of the seventeenth century, is often accused of seeking covertly to "Protestantize" the Orthodox Church. During his studies in western Europe, he had come into contact with Protestant Calvinist ideas. And when later he became Patriarch of Constantinople, he extended his favor to Protestant envoys in Constantinople. In 1629, there was published in Geneva a Confession of Faith attributed to Patriarch Cyril and which unequivocally expressed Calvinist beliefs. Cyril himself as an individual may well have been attracted by certain Calvinist beliefs, but that he wished to impose these beliefs on the Orthodox Church is doubtful. In any event, the Geneva Confession of Faith (whose attribution to Cyril many of his own clerical associates denied) was condemned as heretical by several local Orthodox councils subsequently held in the East.
It should not be overlooked that one of Cyril's primary aims was to enlighten and uplift the educational level of his clergy and flock, which in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century had sunk to an extremely low point because of the long Turkish oppression. Aside from the patriarchal school in Constantinople, the Turks by now permitted almost no other school on the Greek main land. The only schools in fact that were operating in what we to day call "Greece" were those schools in the Greek areas then under Venetian domination, such as in Crete, Corfu, or the Ionian Islands. Lukaris had constantly to be wary of his volatile Turkish masters who in fact removed him from office several times, only to reinstate him again and again. He finally died a martyr's death of strangulation at the hands of the Turks. Out of his attempts to educate his Orthodox flock resulted the foundation of the Greek printing press in Constantinople.
From the Ecumenical Patriarchat of Constantinople
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- In 1653 Patriarch Cyril opened a school of thought called Athoniada at Mount Athos it says, but how is that possible when he died in 1637? 80.199.217.122 16:39, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
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- I just read that section as well and I will add a Factual Accuracy template to the article. Perhaps someone who knows more will notice the tagging and fix the article. Chekaz (talk) 17:27, 5 December 2007 (UTC)