He was from Peloponnese and before his election into the Patriarchal throne in 1486, he served as a Metropolitan of Thessaloniki. His election into Patriarch provokes the reactions of his opponents, who accused him for stealing foreign property and succeeded in his deposition.

He was called again in 1497 to the Patriarchical throne, but again he was deposed after a short period. In 1502 he was called for a third time, but he did not accept the invitation.

In his patriarchy, he tried in painful times to reorganise the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but there were serious difficulties from the externally imposed positions of the various parties.