According to the sources, Nifon first travelled as a monk and calligrapher to Illyric and Dalmatia, where he was copying manuscripts and preaching against the unionist council of Florence. Then he came to Athos, to the monasteries of Vatopedios, Pantokratoros, and finally to Dionysios, where he was ordained a priest and remained. He was later appointed as a bishop of Thessaloniki, and twice served as Patriarch of Konstantinople, in 1486-1489 and 1497-1498. Then he finally resigned from the Ecumenical Throne and went to Adrianople, where Radu IV, the ruler of Wallachia, invited to his kingdom as a spiritual advisor. Although Nifon again received a proposal to become Patriarch, he declined it, preferring to devote himself to the spiritual well-being of the Wallachian people.
