He was one of the pioneers, in the years 1886–1897, of the efforts for the return of the exiled Patriarch Ioakim III the Magnificent. On October 7, 1918, a great rebellion against the Orthodox came and was condemned within the Patriarchal Church. He was forced to resign from the throne on October 12, 1918, retiring to Kadikoy, where he died and was buried in December 1920.