Patriarch Benjamin I of Constantinople

Ecumenical Patriarch Benjamin I (, 18 January 1871 – 17 February 1946) was 266th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from January 1936, until his death to February 1946, serving as the primus inter pares (first among equals) and spiritual leader of Easter Orthodox Christianity worldwide.

Early life Benjamin was born as Benjamin Psomas on 18 January 1871, in Edremit, Ottoman Empire. From 1889 to 1896, he studied at the Halki seminary.

On 18 January 1936, the Holy Synod voted to elevated Benjamin from Metropolitan bishop to Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople following the death of Photius II of Constantinople.

Benjamin I died in Istanbul on 17 February 1946, after suffering from bronchitis and was succeeded by Maximus V of Constantinople. At the 1946 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America national convention, two minutes of silence were given in honor of Benjamin I and a delegate from Pope Pius XII attended his funeral.

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