Cyril II (Patriarch of Jerusalem)

Born in 1795 in the Choir on the island of Samos, in the pious family of Nicholas and Irina Criticos.

At the age of 14, Archbishop Daniel of Samos was ordained a reader , and in 1816 he was tonsured a monk and ordained a priest at the Holy Cross Exaltation Monastery by Archbishop of Samos (Agrafiotis). In 1818, he was ordained a presbyter by Metropolitan Ambrose of Stagon, who was expelled by the Turks from his department.

In 1820 he went to Istanbul , met with the Patriarch of Jerusalem Polycarp , from whom he received permission to join the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher . In the same year he left for Jerusalem , where he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite .

In 1828 he was elected and consecrated bishop with the elevation to the rank of archbishop of Sevastia .

Since 1838 - Archbishop of Lida.

March 28, 1845 elected Patriarch of Jerusalem.

He maintained good relations with the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem .

Patriarch Kirill opened the theological school of the Holy Cross in 1853, in which many future bishops of both Jerusalem and other Orthodox Churches studied.

Had a favorable attitude to the Bulgarians. He supported Archimandrite Pavel Bozhigrobsky and appointed him the main representative of the Jerusalem taxidiot in Thessaloniki in 1850-1866.

For the first time he outlined his opinion on the Bulgarian church issue in a letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople Gregory VI of January 24, 1869 regarding the last message of December 16, 1868 on the convocation of the Ecumenical Council .

Together with Alexandria and Antioch, he arrived at the Council of Constantinople Anthim VI convened in September 1872, but did everything possible to avoid making a prepared decision, according to which the Bulgarian Exarchate was declared a schism on September 18 (30), and his followers were excommunicated.

On September 14, Patriarch Kirill returned to Jerusalem under the pretext of meeting with Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich , who expressed a desire to come to the Holy Land . However, he did not leave a deputy in his place in the council, and thus, no one from the Jerusalem Patriarchate signed the act of schism. At the same time, the Synod of the Church of Jerusalem drew up an act which expressed its agreement with the decisions of the Council in Constantinople, urging the Patriarch to sign it, which he refused; in the Antioch Patriarchate the situation was the opposite: his bishops spoke out against the declaration of schism.

After the departure of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich on November 7, 1872, the bishops of the Jerusalem Church, with the exception of Metropolitan of Nazareth, removed Patriarch Cyril II from office, declaring him a supporter of the schismatics.

Vali of Jerusalem Nazif Pasha on December 18 informed him that the High Port approved his overthrow and he was ordered to immediately go to the marina in Jaffa , and from there with a government ship to Istanbul .

Patriarch Cyril II nevertheless continued to remain popular among his former flock, especially among Orthodox Arabs. Two years later, primarily due to the demands of the Orthodox Arab population and the clergy, on February 26, 1875, the Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate dismissed Procopius II from office, despite the protests of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Arabs from Jerusalem asked former patriarch Kirill to re-nominate his candidacy for the widowed patriarchal throne, but in a pastoral message published in the newspapers, he rejects this proposal, citing old age.

He died on August 18, 1877.

• Gennady Bolshakov BRIEF INFORMATION ON THE LIFE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE JERUSALEMIAN PATRIARCHES IN THE XIX CENTURY
• Ο ΠΑΤΡΙΆΡΧΗΣ ΙΕΡΟΣΟΛΎΜΩΝ ΚΎΡΙΛΛΟΣ Ο Β΄