The Confession of Metrophanes Critopulus, subsequently Patriarch of Alexandria, composed during his sojourn in Germany. It is more liberal than the primary standards. Read the Confession of Metrophanes in the Original Greek in this PDF. I have not been able to find a translation online or through the library system. If you can help me with this let me know.
The Confession of Patriarch Metrophanes Critopoulos
2. Of Metrophanes* Kritop(o)ulos (1625). Metrophanes was sent by C. Lucaris* to study theol. in Eng. and on the Continent; became close friend of G. Calixtus,* at whose request he prepared the confession, which opposed Romanism but was conciliatory to Protestantism.
I read in the book of Prof. Pelikan (Credo) about a very important Confession used by the Orthodox Church, the Confession of Alexandrian Patriarch Metrophanes Critopoulos.
The patriarch's worldly surname is Criticopoulos (also can be spelt Kritikopoulos), therefore this might have made searching difficult. The name Metrophanes can also be rendered in various ways, one of the vagaries of languages which do not use the Latin alphabet.
Of Metrophanes* Kritop(o)ulos (1625). Metrophanes was sent by C. Lucaris* to study theol. in Eng. and on the Continent; became close friend of G. Calixtus,* at whose request he prepared the confession, which opposed Romanism but was conciliatory to Protestantism.
Metrophanes Kritikopoulos was a scion of an old family from Beroia, Macedonia. He went to the Holy Mountain in 1606 as a novice monk. With the support of Cyril (Loukaris), the then Patriarch of Alexandria, he studied theology and literature between 1617 and 1622 at Balliol College, Oxford.
He then settled in London, and from 1624 to 1627, travelled to Germany and Switzerland, lecturing on the Orthodox Church. He also attended theological seminaries to gain knowledge of the Lutheran and Calvinist churches.
Since the confession was written to serve rapprochement with the Anglicans (from what I remember), the chances that there is an English version are pretty good. it was the back bone of the later confessions (Dothesious , and Jerusalem 1672) . Besides, it is really important for our age today as it was written - as I was told - in a language and way , can be understood and recognized well by the Western world. Unfortunately, the only copy I have been able to find online is in E.J. Kimmel's Monumenta fidei Ecclesiae orientalis (published in 1850) and it's not in English, but in parallel Greek and Latin. I found no references to any English translation. Kimmel's work gives yet another spelling - "Metrophanis Critopuli" - but I didn't find anything else when I Googled using that.
He lived in Venice from 1627 to 1630. He was consecrated Bishop of Memphis and Egypt in 1633, and effectively took over the administration of the Patriarchate of Alexandria. He served as Patriarch of Alexandria from 1636 to 1639.
In 1638, he took part in the great ecclesiastical synod which condemned the Calvinist "Confession" of the former patriarch Cyril (Loukaris). His writings encompass theological discourses, sermons, and a grammar primer of the modern Greek language.
Given Theophanes' stint at Oxford, it seems possible that at least some of his works could exist in English.