The life of St Niphon of Constantinople
From that post he was raised, unusually, to the patriarchal throne of Constantinople itself, and held it across three separate periods: from 1486 to 1488, again from 1497 to 1498, and once more offered it in 1502, an invitation he flatly declined, withdrawing instead toward Macedonia with two of his own disciples.
Between these terms he returned each time to Athos, first to Vatopedi and later to the monastery of Dionysiou. While traveling near Wallachia around 1502, he was persuaded, through the Sultan's own intervention, to accept the office of archbishop over the Wallachian people at the request of Prince Radul, but Radul's own misconduct in office led Niphon to abandon that post and return once more to Dionysiou. He reposed there on the third of September, 1508, at ninety years of age, and was honored as a saint by those who had known him almost as soon as he had died.
