1. Life and Career Kallinikos was born in Kastanea of Agrafa, hence the epithet “Akarnanian”, and was educated in his birthplace, studying by the distinguished scholar Evgenios Giannoulis of Aetolia. He ascended the highest offices of ecclesiastical hierarchy and served as the metropolitan of Prousa. Kallinikos was elected ecumenical patriarch on March 3, 1688, widely supported by other prelates and secular potentates, most important of them being the influential economic figure Manolakis Kastorianos. The widely accepted election was probably due to the general tendency towards peace in ecclesiastical matters, after the serious disputes between the previous patriarchs Dionysios IV “Muselimis” and Iakovos. However, there was no peace. On the contrary, when he expelled Neophytos, the uncooperative metropolitan of Adrianople, Kallinikos II had to face a tough opponent, who managed to undermine and overthrow him on November 27 of the same year, thus becoming patriarch as Neophytos IV. In any case, Kallinikos stayed away from the patriarchal throne for only a short period, where he returned in March or April 1689, since the holy synod was steadily against the accession of Neophytos IV to the throne. He remained on the throne until 1693, when Constantin Brâncoveanu, the prince of Wallachia, managed to enthrone his protégé, the former patriarch Dionysios IV. As Dionysios IV stayed in office for only a short time, Kallinikos II returned to the patriarchal throne during 1693 and remained there until his death on August 8, 1702. He was buried at the monastery of Theotokos Kamariotissa on Chalki Island. 2. Work and Evaluation He certainly was an active patriarch, who showed interest in education and reorganised the Patriarchal School, while adopting a strongly anti-Latin attitude. Although his service in the diocese of Prousa was his only personal connection with Asia Minor, he is known for a series of acts for this region. These acts included the validation of the of the monasteries of St George and Panagia Hodegetria in Kios (Gemlik) in 1689, the subordination of the area of Garasari to the diocese of Chaldia, the subordination of the area of Kerasounta (Giresun), Koralla and Tripolis (Tirebolu) to the diocese of Trebizond in 1698 and the validation of the stauropegian laws of the monastery of St. George Peristeriotas in 1701. |