Germanus V (Kavakopoulos) of Constantinople

Germanus V (Kavakopoulos) - Patriarch of Constantinople

His All-Holiness Germanus V (Kavakopoulos) was Patriarch of Constantinople during the second decade of the twentieth century. He took an active role in Church reform, but was not popular because of his authoritarian style and his moderate attitude concerning the persecutions of Orthodox Christians by the Turkish government.

Life

Patriarch Germanus was born in the Phanar district of Constantinople in 1835 and was baptized Georgios Kavakopoulos (Greek: Γεώργιος Καβακόπουλος). He obtained his education in Jerusalem and Athens, before attending the Theological School of Halki.

He was given the name Germanus when he entered the monastic clergy. In 1864, he was the archdeacon for Patriarch Sofronius III. After his consecration he was the ruling archbishop in four archdioceses: Kos in 1867, Rhodes from 1876 to 1888, Iraklis from 1888 to 1897, and Chalcedony from 1897 to 1913.

While Patr. Germanus was active in the church reform movement and was aggressive in defending against attempts to suppress the Orthodox Church, he was not popular with the faithful because of his authoritarian rule and his lukewarm defense of the Orthodox Christian people who were being persecuted by the Turkish Ottoman government. These protests resulted in his resignation as patriarch on October 12, 1918.

The Patriarchal see remained vacant after his resignation for three years until the election of Meletius (Metaxakis) as Meletius IV in 1921. Patr. Germanus V reposed in 1920.

Succession box: Germanus V (Kavakopoulos) of Constantinople
Preceded by: ?	Archbishop of Kos 1867-1867	Succeeded by: ?
Preceded by: ?	Archbishop of Rhodes 1876-1888	Succeeded by: ?
Preceded by: ?	Archbishop of Iraklis 1888-1897	Succeeded by: ?
Preceded by: ?	Archbishop of Chalcedony 1897-1913	Succeeded by: ?
Preceded by: Joachim III	Patriarch of Constantinople 1913-1918	Succeeded by: Meletius IV (Metaxakis)

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Sources

• Germanus V of Consyantinople
• Wikipedia: Germanus V van Constantinopel (In Dutch)