[1][2][3] His predecessor Anthimus VI of Constantinople was unpopular in the church and the Holy Synod formally petitioned the Ottoman government to depose him; the government agreed and choose the new Patriarch.
[4] He came to power during the Crimean War and witnessed the signing of Sultan Abdulmejid I's Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856 which promised equality in education and justice to everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Due to the politics of the war, Cyril VII had a lot of enemies.
He eventually resigned as Patriarch and spent the rest of his life in prayer and solitude in Halki.
Cyril VII is buried at Hagia Triada Church, Constantinople.