Editing Gennadius Scholarius (section)

== Biography ==
He was born ''Georgios Kourtesios'' in [[Constantinople]] {{circa|1400}} and he belonged to an ethnic [[Greeks|Greek]] family originally from the island of [[Chios]]; the name ''Scholarios'' (which was also a title) is thought to derive from a family member's position in the [[Byzantine Navy]] or the imperial palace.<ref>Gideon, Manuel (1885), Patriarchal Tables - Historical biographical news about the Patriarchs of Constantinople - from Andrew Protocletos to Joachim III of Thessalonica, 36–1884, p. 472 [https://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/php/pdf_pager.php?rec=/metadata/f/0/9/metadata-01-0000337.tkl&do=74635.pdf&pageno=480&width=396&height=625&maxpage=734&lang=en]</ref> His abecedary was [[Mark of Ephesus]]<ref>M. Pilavakis, Introduction to "First Antirrhetic against Manuel Kalekas", (London, Doctoral Diss., 1988), p. 24</ref> (d. 1444).<ref>For Mark of Ephesus' death, see J. Gill, "The Year of the Death of Mark Eugenicus", ''Byzantinische Zeitschrift'', 52 (1952), 23–31.</ref> Following his tutelage under the famous [[John Chortasmenos]] ("didaskalos" of the Patriarchal School), Manuel-Mark might have then recommended him to study under his own previous master, [[Gemistos Plethon]] (d. 1452–1454), {{circa}} 1428.<ref>{{harvp|Kappes|2013a}}</ref> However, his studies under Plethon are a matter of speculation and, at any rate, would have been more likely attendance at Plethon's lectures at [[Mystras]].<ref>{{harvp|Kappes|2013a|pp=214–215}}</ref> Gennadius had been a teacher of philosophy before entering the service of the emperor [[John VIII Palaiologos]] as a theological advisor. In fact, in 1437 – in anticipation of the [[Council of Florence]] – the emperor formally studied [[Neilos Kabasilas]]'s works along with [[Mark of Ephesus]] and Gennadius II. Curiously, the trio also formally studied the works of [[Duns Scotus]] (d. 1308) because of his rejection of the Filioque in [[Thomistic]] metaphysics, as well as Scotus' doctrine of a "formal distinction" between the persons and essence of God, as well as God's attributes (or "energies").<ref>{{harvp|Monfasani|2011|pp=165–168}}</ref> It was for this reason that Gennadius II wrote an academic refutation of the first eighteen of Mark of Ephesus' "Syllogistic Chapters against the Latins". From this, the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] speculates that Gennadius II was likely writing an academic exercise to inform his former master that [[Thomas Aquinas]]' opinions did not constitute a universally Latin approach to questions on the [[Trinity]].

=== Council of Florence ===
Gennadius became historically important when, as judge in the civil courts under John VIII Palaiologos (1425–1448), he accompanied his emperor to the Council of Florence, held in 1438–1439 in [[Ferrara]] and [[Florence]]. The object of this endeavor was bringing a union between the [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek]] and [[Latin Church]]es, which he supported at that time.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=596}} He made four speeches at the council – all exceedingly conciliatory.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

At the same council appeared the celebrated Platonist, Gemistos Plethon, the most powerful opponent of the then dominant [[Aristotelianism]], and consequently an antagonist of Gennadius. In church matters, as in philosophy, the two were opposed – Plethon advocated a partial return to Greek [[paganism]] in the form of a [[syncretic]] union between [[Christianity]] and [[Zoroastrianism]];{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} while Gennadius, more cautious, pressed the necessity for ecclesiastical union with Rome on doctrinal grounds, and was instrumental in drawing up a form which from its vagueness and ambiguity might be accepted by both parties. Gennadius was at a serious disadvantage because, being a layman, he could not directly take part in the discussions of the council.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=596–597}}

=== Return to Constantinople ===
Despite his initial advocacy of the union (and berating many of the Orthodox bishops for their lack of theological learnedness), Gennadius soured on union during the council and left it early in June 1440. At the behest of his mentor [[Mark of Ephesus]], who converted him completely to anti-Latin Orthodoxy, until his death, Gennadius was known (with Mark of Ephesus) as the most uncompromising enemy of the union. It was at just about this time (1444) that he began to draw attention to the putative heterodoxy of Aquinas' "distinction of reason" between the attributes (viz., energies) and essence of God. First, as contained in [[Martin Jugie]]'s edition of his ''opera omnia'', Gennadius interrupts chapters 94–96 of his discourse "On Being and Essence" of [[Thomas Aquinas]] and replaces the [[Thomism|Thomistic]] explanation with that of [[Scotism]] in order to agree better with [[Gregory Palamas]]. However, he initially mitigates total condemnation of Aquinas, noting that later [[Scholasticism|Scholastics]] (like [[Hervaeus Natalis]]) interpret Aquinas in a more Orthodox light.<ref>{{harvp|Kappes|2013b}}</ref> This point marks Gennadius' increasing theological distance from Aquinas, where he begins to be more theologically condemnatory of him in later works (e.g., his treatises on the Holy Spirit and his Preface to the Greek "Summa Theologiae"). However, this distance can be overstated. Marcus Plested observes that Gennadius' "love and esteem for Thomas was to continue undimmed throughout his career although he would often accentuate the note of caution in later works".<ref name="Marcus Plested 2012, pp. 128–129">Marcus Plested (2012), ''Orthodox Readings of Aquinas'', [[Oxford University Press]], pp. 128–129</ref> Despite his cautions, Gennadius writes of Thomas "We love this divinely-inspired and wise man".<ref>Luis Petit, Xenophon Sidéridès, Martin Jugie, Eds. (1928–1936), ''Oeuvres complètes de Georges Scholarios'', 8 vols, Paris, VI, 177–178, quoted in Plested, p. 129</ref> He wrote many works to defend his new convictions, which differ so much from the earlier conciliatory ones that [[Leo Allatius]] thought there must be two people of the same name;<ref>''Diatriba de Georgiis'' in Johann Albert Fabricius-Gottlieb Christoph Harless ''Bibliotheca Græca'', X, 760–786</ref> to whom [[Edward Gibbon]]: "[[Eusèbe Renaudot]] has restored the identity of his person, and the duplicity of his character".<ref>Edward Gibbon, ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|Decline and Fall]]'', lxviii, note 41</ref>

After the death of John VIII in 1448, Gennadius entered the [[Zeyrek Mosque|Pantokrator monastery]] in Constantinople under Emperor [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]] (1448–1453) and took, according to the invariable custom, a new name: Gennadius. Before the [[Fall of Constantinople|fall of the city]] he was already well known as a bitter opponent of the union. He and Mark of Ephesus were the leaders of the anti-Latin party. In 1444, Mark of Ephesus on his deathbed praised Gennadius's irreconcilable attitude towards the Latins and the union.<ref>''[[Patrologia Graeca]]'', CLX, 529</ref> It was to Gennadius that the angry people went after seeing the [[Uniate]] services in the great church of [[Hagia Sophia]]. It is said that he hid himself, but left a notice on the door of his cell: "O unhappy Romans, why have you forsaken the truth? Why do you not trust in God, instead of in the Italians? In losing your faith you will lose your city".<ref>Quoted by Edward Gibbon, ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|Decline and Fall]]'', ed. [[J. B. Bury]], VII, 176</ref>

=== Ottoman period ===
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2017}}
[[File:Gennadios Mehmed II.jpg|thumb|Patriarch Gennadius II with Mehmet II depicted on an 18th-century painting]]
[[File:Gennadios II and Mehmed II.jpg|thumb|upright|Patriarch Gennadius II with [[Mehmed II]] depicted on a 20th-century mosaic<ref>G. Ágoston, B.A. Masters, ''Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire'', (2009), 238.</ref>]]

After the [[fall of Constantinople]], Gennadius was taken prisoner by the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]]. In administering his new conquest, 21-year-old conquering Sultan [[Mehmed II]] wished to assure the loyalty of the Greek population and above all avoid them appealing to the Roman Catholics for liberation, potentially sparking a new round of [[Crusades]]. Mehmed II therefore sought the most anti-Catholic cleric he could find as a figure of unity for the Greeks under Turkish rule – and Gennadius as leading anti-Union figure was a natural choice. On 1 June 1453, just three days after the fall of the city, the new Patriarch's procession passed through the streets where Mehmed II received Gennadius II graciously and himself invested him with the signs of his office – the [[crosier]] (''dikanikion'') and mantle. This ceremonial investiture would be repeated by all sultans and patriarchs thereafter.

Before the conquest of Constantinople, the rivalry between the Eastern and Western Churches had significantly weakened the power of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, leading to internal divisions among its clergy. This tumultuous period resulted in the inability to appoint a new patriarch following the resignation of [[Athanasius II of Constantinople]]. After the city's conquest, Mehmed II ordered the selection and traditional consecration of a new patriarch according to the wishes of the Greeks, appointing Gennadius as the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople.

Mehmed II conferred upon the new Patriarch the title of ''[[millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]]'' Başkanı' (Head of the Nation), thereby authorising him to oversee all matters concerning his co-religionists. In a gesture reminiscent of the practices of Byzantine emperors, Mehmed II personally presented the Patriarch with the crosier and crown, symbols of his ecclesiastical authority. This act of investiture, accompanied by Janissary guards, safely paraded the new Patriarch through the city, introducing him to the populace and marking a seamless continuation of the ceremonial traditions of the Byzantine Empire into the Ottoman era.

The city's famous patriarchal basilica, the [[Hagia Sophia]], had already been converted into a mosque by the conquerors, so Gennadius II established his seat at the [[Church of the Holy Apostles]]. Three years later the edifice, which was in a dilapidated state (in 1461 it was demolished by the Ottomans to make way for the [[Fatih Mosque]]),<ref>Müller-Wiener, Wolfgang (1977), ''Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls - Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul bis zum Beginn d. 17 Jh.'' (in German), Tübingen, Wasmuth {{ISBN|978-3-8030-1022-3}}, 406</ref> was abandoned by the Patriarch, who moved again to the [[Pammakaristos Church|Church of the Pammakaristos]].

The Ottomans divided their Empire into ''millets'' or subject nations, of which the Greeks were the largest, known as the [[Rum Millet]]. The Patriarch was appointed the official head or ''[[Ethnarch]]'' of the Greek millet, which was used as the Ottomans as a source for imperial administrators. Gennadius II became a political authority as well as a religious one, as were all his successors under the Ottomans.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

As was normal when a monk or lay scholar was appointed patriarch, Gennadius was consecutively [[holy orders|ordained]], first as a deacon, then as a priest, then finally as a bishop before being appointed patriarch.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

=== Patriarch ===
In the spring of 1454 he was consecrated by the [[metropolitan bishop|metropolitan]] of [[Perinthus|Heraclea Perinthus]], but, since both the Church of Hagia Sophia and the palace of the patriarch were now in the hands of the Ottomans, he took up his residence successively in two [[monastery|monasteries]] of the city.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}} While holding the episcopal office Gennadius II drew up, apparently for the use of Mehmed, a confession or exposition of the Christian faith, which was translated into Turkish by Ahmed, [[Qadi]] of [[Veria|Berrhoea]] (and first printed in Greek and Latin by A. Brassicanus at [[Vienna]] in 1530).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=597}}

Gennadius II was unhappy as patriarch, and tried to abdicate his position at least twice; in 1456 he resigned. The full reason for this step commonly attributed to his disappointment at the sultan's treatment of Christians, though Mehmed II seems to have kept the fairly tolerant conditions he had allowed to them; various writers hint at other motives.<ref name="Michalcescu_13"/> Eventually, he found the tensions between the [[Greeks]] and the Ottomans overwhelming.

He was later called two times to guide the Christian community as Patriarch during the turbulent period that followed the patriarchate of [[Isidore II of Constantinople]]. There is no consensus among scholars about the exact dates of his last two patriarchates: according to Kiminas (2009), he reigned again from April 1463 to June 1463 and from autumn 1464 to autumn 1465.<ref>For the different scholars' suggestions about the second and third terms of Gennadius II see the [[list of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople]].</ref> Blanchet objects to the existence itself of these two additional terms.<ref>{{harvp|Blanchet|2001}}</ref>

Gennadius II then, like so many of his successors, ended his days as an ex-patriarch and a [[monk]]. He lived in the monastery of John the Baptist near [[Serrae]] in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], where he wrote books until he died in about 1472.

Gennadius II fills an important place in Byzantine history. He was the last of the old school of [[polemic]]al writers and one of the greatest. Unlike most of his fellows he had an intimate acquaintance with Latin theological literature, especially with St. [[Thomas Aquinas]] and other [[scholasticism|Scholastics]]. He was as skillful an opponent of Catholic theology as [[Mark of Ephesus]], and a more learned one. However, his opposition to Aquinas can be overstated. Marcus Plested observes that Gennadius II's "love and esteem for Thomas was to continued undimmed throughout his career although he would often accentuate the note of caution in later works". Despite his cautions Gennadius writes of Thomas "We love this divinely-inspired and wise man".<ref name="Luis Petit p. 129">Luis Petit, [[Xenophon Sideridis]], [[Martin Jugie]], Eds. (1928–1936), ''Oeuvres complètes de Georges Scholarios'', 8 vols, Paris, VI, 177–178, quoted in Plested, p. 129</ref>

His writings show him to be a student not only of Western philosophy but of controversy with Jews and Muslims, of the great [[Hesychast]] question (he attacked [[Barlaam of Seminara]] and defended the monks; naturally, the Barlaamites were "latinophrones"), in short, of all the questions that were important in his time. He has another kind of importance as the first Patriarch of Constantinople under the Ottomans. From this point of view, he stands at the head of a new period in the history of his Church; the principles that regulated the condition of Orthodox Christians in the [[Ottoman Empire]] are the result of Mehmed II's arrangement with him.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}