Benjamin I of Constantinople

Benjamin I
Benjamin I
266th Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
	Patriarch Benjamin I of Constantinople
Church	Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
See	Constantinople
In office	18 January 1936 –; 17 February 1946
Predecessor	Photius II
Successor	Maximus V
Personal details
Born	Benjamin Psomas; 18 January 1871; Edremit, Ottoman Empire
Died	17 February 1946 (aged 75); Istanbul, Turkey
Denomination	Eastern Orthodoxy

Ecumenical Patriarch Benjamin I (Greek: Βενιαμίν Αʹ, 18 January 1871 – 17 February 1946) was 266th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from January 1936, until his death to February 1946, serving as the primus inter pares (first among equals) and spiritual leader of Easter Orthodox Christianity worldwide.

Early life

Benjamin was born as Benjamin Psomas on 18 January 1871, in Edremit, Ottoman Empire.^[1] From 1889 to 1896, he studied at the Halki seminary.^[2]

Career

Letterhead: Benjamin by the grace of God Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch

Benjamin I Patriarch of Constantinople being visited by Italian designer Roberto Sambonet in 1945.

In 1912, he was elected as the Metropolis of Rhodes, in 1914, he was elected as the Metropolitan of Silybria, and was later moved to the Metropolis of Philippopolis, but was unable to perform his duties due to the outbreak of World War I.^[2]

On 18 January 1936, the Holy Synod voted to elevated Benjamin from Metropolitan bishop to Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople following the death of Photius II of Constantinople.^[3]

Benjamin I died in Istanbul on 17 February 1946, after suffering from bronchitis and was succeeded by Maximus V of Constantinople.^[4] At the 1946 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America national convention, two minutes of silence were given in honor of Benjamin I and a delegate from Pope Pius XII attended his funeral.^[5]^[6]