He studied in the Evangelical School of Smyrna, where he was classmates with Nicodemus the Hagiorite and Adamantios Korais.
On 1 May 1789, he succeeded Procopius of Constantinople on the Ecumenical throne, with some concerns about how canonical his election was.
Even though his reign is considered worthy, he had to resign on 1 March 1794 and retired to Heybeliada and later to Rhodes, Patmos and Mount Athos.
He re-founded after 413 years the Metropolis of Corfu and blessed, with the permission of the Sublime Porte, the new flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands in the Church of St. George.
During his lifetime, and after many discussions, the translation and publication the Canon of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Demotic Greek was finally approved.