Michael II Kourkouas (Oxeites) (Greek: Μιχαήλ Β΄ Κουρκούας) was an Eastern Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople (July 1143 – March 1146). When at the beginning of 1143 patriarch Leo and emperor John II Komnenos died within a few months of each other, the Byzantine Church entered a period of great turbulence. Soon after assuming power, Manuel I saw to the election of a new patriarch, Michael Kourkouas, a monk from the island monastery of Oxeia; the sources stress the emperor's active involvement. Manuel I himself was crowned by the new patriarch next month upon entering the capital. Upon taking the office Michael II was involved with religious persecution of bogomils. After three years Michael II resigned in disillusion.