Joachim III of Constantinople

{{Short description|Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1878 to 1884 and from 1901 to 1912}}

{{Expand Greek|topic=bio|Ιωακείμ Γ΄ Μεγαλοπρεπής|date=June 2012}}

{{Infobox patriarch

| name = Joachim III of Constantinople

| patriarch_of = Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

| image = Joachim III.jpg

| caption =

| enthroned = 4 October 1878
25 May 1901

| ended = 30 March 1884
13 November 1912

| province =

| diocese =

| see =

| church =

| predecessor = Joachim II of Constantinople
Constantine V of Constantinople

| successor = Joachim IV of Constantinople
Germanus V of Constantinople

| birth_name =

| birth_date = 30 January 1834

| birth_place = Constantinople

| death_date = 30 November 1912

| death_place = Constantinople

| buried =

| nationality = Aromanian

| religion = Eastern Orthodoxy

}}

Joachim III of Constantinople ({{langx|el|Ιωακείμ ὁ Μεγαλοπρεπής}}; 30 January 1834 – 30 November 1912) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1878 to 1884 and from 1901 to 1912.

Joachim was born in Constantinople on 30 January 1834, with Aromanian origin from Kruševo. He was educated in Vienna. In 1858–1861, he was the deacon in the holy temple of St George. In 1864, he was elected bishop of Varna and in 1874 bishop of ThessalonicaHarrison Griswold Page Constantinople, old and new pp. 509–510 {{ISBN|0-7103-0721-7}}. In the time of his first reign, he worked on the improvement of the financial state of the Patriarchate. In 1880, he founded the magazine Truth and did various other charitable acts. He is seen as one of the most prominent and important patriarchs of the twentieth century and modern times.

In his 1911 encyclical, Joachim III said that holding church services in the Aromanian language was against the teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church and threatened clergy performing services in Aromanian with defrocking and excommunication.{{cite journal |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21520844.2022.2125696 |title=The Recognition of the Vlachs as a Millet in the Ottoman Empire, 1905 |first=Elçin |last=Macar |journal=The Journal of the Middle East and Africa |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=109 |date=2023 |doi=10.1080/21520844.2022.2125696 |s2cid=253428477}}

Joachim III repeatedly attempted to find a solution to the Bulgarian schism, to little avail.Robin Okey Taming Balkan nationalism p. 35 {{ISBN|0-19-921391-7}}. Patriarch Joachim III was a Mason, a member of the «Πρόοδος» lodge.[http://www.grandlodge.gr/%CE%B9%CF%89%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BC-%CE%B3-%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%AC%CF%81%CF%87%CE%B7%CF%82/ Ιωακείμ Γ' Πατριάρχης] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305155414/http://www.grandlodge.gr/%CE%B9%CF%89%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BC-%CE%B3-%CF%80%CE%B1%CF%84%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%AC%CF%81%CF%87%CE%B7%CF%82/ |date=5 March 2016}}. He was awarded the Serbian Order of the Cross of Takovo{{Cite book |last=Acović |first=Dragomir |title=Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima |date=2012 |location=Belgrade |publisher=Službeni Glasnik |page=600}} and the Austro-Hungarian Order of St. Stephen.{{Citation |chapter-url=https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1918&page=429&size=45 |chapter=Ritter-Orden |title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie |date=1918 |access-date=23 July 2020 |page=55}}.