Dositheos II of Jerusalem

Dositheus II Notaras of Jerusalem (; Arachova 31 May 1641 – Constantinople 8 February 1707) was the Patriarch of Jerusalem between 1669 and 1707 and a theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was known for standing against influences of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. He convened the Synod of Jerusalem in 1672 to counter the Calvinist confessions alleged to be from Cyril Lucaris.

Early life Dositheus Notaras was born in Arachova (today the village of Exochi, Aigialeia, Achaea) on 31 May 1641. He was born to Nicholas Skarpetos, a merchant descended from the Notaras family of Greek traders. At 8 years old, he was orphaned by his parents. Little else of his early years are known.

Patriarch of Jerusalem He became very involved in the state of the Orthodox Church in the Balkans, Georgia, and southern Russia, particularly after Patriarch Cyril Lucaris of Constantinople set forth in his Confession of Faith (1629) his agreement in the doctrines of predestination and justification by faith alone. In 1672, Patriarch Dositheus convened the Synod of Jerusalem which rejected all the Calvinist doctrines and reformulated Orthodox teachings in a manner that distinguished them from Roman Catholicism as well as Protestantism.

In correspondence with Peter I of Russia, he objected to Peter's reforms that subjected the church to the state, particularly with his abolition of the Patriarchate of Moscow. Dositheus failed in his attempt to get Peter to intercede for the Eastern Orthodox Church in the peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire in 1700.

Dositheus was an "instancabile editore di cose non sue" ("indefatiguable editor of other people's works"), "theologorum Graecorum opera non pauca prelo mandavit ... fuit enim potius compilator et alienorum editor quam novorum auctor" ("he printed not few works of Greek theologicians ... he was a compiler and editor of other people's works, rather than author of original works"). The main works published during his life were a three-volumes collection of anti-Latin works: Τόμος καταλλαγῆς [The tome of the Reconciliation], Τόμος ἀγάπης [The tome of Love], Τόμος χαρᾶς [The tome of Joy], all printed in Jaşi, 1692–1705.

Death Dositheus died in Constantinople on 8 February 1707.