Lucaris, Cyril (c. 1572–1638)

Greek theologian. He attempted to Calvinize the Orthodox Church. He was patriarch of Alexandria (1602), and of Constantinople (1621), but was deposed six times. In 1638 he was arrested, and was strangled by the sultan's Janissaries when supposedly on his way to prison. His body was thrown into the harbour.

He was born in Crete. He became a priest and studied at Venice, Padua, and Geneva, where he conceived a strong liking for Calvinism. He had many Orthodox opponents and Jesuit enemies. His Confession, a conflation of Orthodoxy and Calvinism, was published in 1629. He brought the Codex Alexandrinus, now in the British Museum, to England. He spent some time in exile on Rhodes.