Pope Anastasius of Alexandria

Saint

Anastasius of Alexandria
Saint; Anastasius of Alexandria
Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
Papacy began	605
Papacy ended	18 December 616
Predecessor	Damian
Successor	Andronicus
Personal details
Born	Alexandria, Egypt; Egypt
Died	18 December 616; Alexandria, Egypt
Buried	Ennaton, monastery near Alexandria
Nationality	Egyptian
Denomination	Coptic Orthodox Christian
Residence	Saint Mark's Church
Sainthood
Feast day	18 December (22 Kiahk in the Coptic calendar)

Pope Anastasius of Alexandria, 36th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. During his reign, despite being barred from the city of Alexandria, he met with the Patriarch of Antioch as they worked to arrange the unification of their two churches.

Life

He was one of the great noblemen of Alexandria. Before he became a Pope, he was an overseer of the patriarchal court, then he became a priest for the church of Alexandria.^[1] Shortly afterward, he was unanimously selected by the bishops and clergy of the Coptic Church to succeed Pope Damian of Alexandria as Patriarch. His biography was written by Severus Ibn al-Muqaffa in his History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria. His name does not appear in the standard biographical dictionaries of the Christian church. One possible reason for this omission is the fact that, as indicated in the History, the influence of the Council of Chalcedon's decisions was very strong at the time, both in Alexandria and in the court of Constantinople.^[2]

Not only were Coptic bishops of this time not officially recognized, they were also forbidden to enter Alexandria. The Coptic church in Alexandria was understandably troubled by this arrangement, which was instituted under the reign of Tiberius II Constantine, and his local adjutant named Belisarius. This persecution continued after the death of Tiberius under his son, Maurice. After the murder of Maurice by Phocas, who had overthrown him earlier, the situation deteriorated still further. A citizen of Alexandria who adhered to the Council of Chalcedon's edicts, Eulogius of Alexandria, wrote a defamatory letter to Photas regarding Anastasius. Photas responded by issuing an order to his prefect in Alexandria that the important church of Cosmas and Damian, and all its dependent churches, be turned over to Eulogius,^[1] who became the recognized Patriarch of Alexandria. Anastasius, deeply saddened by this, left for a nearby monastery.^[2]

With the increasing difficulties his church was facing domestically, Anastasius turned more of his attention toward improving relations with other churches. This led to closer contacts with the Church of Antioch. Athanasius I Gammolo, the new Patriarch of Antioch, did not share the support of the edicts of Chalcedon that his predecessor had. When Anastasius learned of Athanasius's succession there, he wrote him a letter commending him on his wisdom in retracting his predecessor's errors,^[1] and urged him to help establish closer relations, and perhaps even unity, between the churches of Alexandria and Antioch. Upon receiving the letter, Athanasius convened a council of his bishops regarding the proposal, and they decided to send a delegation to Alexandria to see if it would be possible to unite the two churches. Athanasius, with five of his bishops, set sail for Alexandria. The delegation arrived, and met with Anastasius, presumably outside of the city, as Anastasius was still barred from entering the city, possibly in the monastery in which Anastasius was staying.^[2]

On the arrival of the delegation, Anastasius summoned all of his bishops and clergy. The leaders of the two churches embraced each other with a kiss of peace, and declared their two churches to be united in doctrine. The two patriarchs remained in the monastery for a month thereafter, discussing a wide variety of topics, including implementing their newfound unity. At the end of the month, Athanasius returned to Antioch.^[2]

Anastasius spent the remaining years of his patriarchate attending to the affairs of his church, including its now closer relationship with Antioch. He also wrote prolifically on matters of theology. He is said to have written enough to have one book put out every year of his reign, presumably twelve books for the twelve years of his reign. Over the years, however, many of these writings have been lost.^[2]

Veneration

Anastasius is considered a saint by the Coptic Church. His feast day is celebrated on 18 December.^[3]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c "The Departure of St. Anastasius, 36th Pope of Alexandria". CopticChurch.net. St. Mark Coptic Church. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Atiya, Aziz Suryal (1991). "Anastasius". The Coptic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-897025-X.
^ Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.

References

البابا أنسطاسيوس [Pope Anastasius] (in Arabic). Official website of St. Takla Haymanot's Church. Retrieved 2011-02-13.

Preceded by Damian	Coptic Pope 605–616	Succeeded by Andronicus

[coptic-1] "The Departure of St. Anastasius, 36th Pope of Alexandria". CopticChurch.net. St. Mark Coptic Church. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.

[CE-2] Atiya, Aziz Suryal (1991). "Anastasius". The Coptic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-897025-X.

[Holweck-3] Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, Missouri: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Patriarchs of Alexandria
Patriarchs prior to the Chalcedonian schism (43–451)	Mark I the Evangelist (founder) Anianus Avilius Kedronos Primus Justus Eumenius Markianos* Celadion Agrippinus Julian Demetrius I Heraclas Dionysius Maximus Theonas Peter I Achillas Alexander I Athanasius I Peter II Timothy I Theophilus I Cyril I Dioscorus I
Coptic Orthodox Popes and Patriarchs (451–present)	Timothy II Peter III Athanasius II John I John II Dioscorus II Timothy III Theodosius I Peter IV Damian Anastasius Andronicus Benjamin I Agathon John III Isaac Simeon I Alexander II Cosmas I Theodore I Michael I Mina I John IV Mark II James Simeon II Joseph I Michael II Cosmas II Shenouda I Michael III Gabriel I Cosmas III Macarius I Theophilus II Mina II Abraham Philotheos Zacharias Shenouda II Christodoulos Cyril II Michael IV Macarius II Gabriel II Michael V John V Mark III John VI Cyril III Athanasius III John VII Gabriel III John VII Theodosius III John VIII John IX Benjamin II Peter V Mark IV John X Gabriel IV Matthew I Gabriel V John XI Matthew II Gabriel VI Michael VI John XII John XIII Gabriel VII John XIV Gabriel VIII Mark V John XV Matthew III Mark VI Matthew IV John XVI Peter VI John XVII Mark VII John XVIII Mark VIII Peter VII Cyril IV Demetrius II Cyril V John XIX Macarius III Joseph II Cyril VI Shenouda III Tawadros II (current)
Greek Orthodox Popes and Patriarchs (451–present)	Proterius Timothy II Timothy III John I Peter III Athanasius II John II John III Dioscorus II Timothy IV Theodosius I Gaianus Paul Zoilus Apollinarius John IV Eulogius Theodore I John V George I Cyrus Peter IV Peter V Peter VI Cosmas I Politianus Eustatius Christopher I Sophronius I Michael I Michael II Christodoulos Eutychius Sophronius II Isaac Job Elias I Arsenius Theophilus II George II Leontius Alexander II John VI Cyril II Sabbas Sophronius III Elias II Eleutherius Mark III* Nicholas I Gregory I Nicholas II Athanasius III Gregory II Gregory III Niphon Mark IV Nicholas III Gregory IV Nicholas IV Athanasius IV Mark V Philotheus Mark VI Gregory V Joachim I Silvester Meletius I Pegas Cyril III Gerasimus I Metrophanes Nicephorus Joannicius Paisius Parthenius I Gerasimus II Samuel Cosmas II Cosmas III Matthew Cyprian Gerasimus III Parthenius II Theophilus III Hierotheus I Artemius Hierotheus II Callinicus Jacob Nicanor Nilus Sophronius IV Photius Meletius II Nicholas V Christopher II Nicholas VI Parthenius III Peter VII Theodore II (current)
Latin Catholic (1276–1954)	Atanasio (Athanasius) Egidio da Ferrara (Giles) ?Humbert II, Dauphin of Vienne Juan (John) Guillaume de Chanac Arnaud Bernard du Pouget (Arnaldo Bernardi) uncanonical Jean de Cardaillac Pietro Amely di Brunac ? Johannes Walteri von Sinten uncanonical Simon of Cramaud Pietro Amely di Brunac Leonardo Dolfin Ugo Roberti Pietro Amaury di Lordat Lancelotus de Navarra Giovanni Contarini Pietro Vitalis di Mauléon Giovanni Vitelleschi Marco Condulmer Jean d'Harcourt Arnaldo Rogerii de Palas Pedro de Urrea Pedro González de Mendoza Diego Hurtado de Mendoza Alonso de Fonseca y Acevedo Bernardino Carafa Cesare Riario Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora Ottaviano Maria Sforza Julius Gonzaga Cristoforo Guidalotti Ciocchi del Monte Jacques Cortès Tommaso Alessandro Riario Enrico Caetani Giovanni Battista Albani Camillo Caetani Séraphin Olivier-Razali Alessandro di Sangro Honoratus Caetani Federico Borromeo Allesandro Crescenzi Aloysius Bevilacqua Petrus Draghi Bartoli Gregorio Giuseppe Gaetani de Aragonia Carlo Ambrosio Mezzabarba Filippo Carlo Spada Girolamo Crispi Giuseppe Antonio Davanzati Lodovico Agnello Anastasi Francisco Mattei Augustus Foscolo Paolo Angelo Ballerini Domenico Marinangeli Paolo de Huyn Luca Ermenegildo Pasetto
Melkite Catholic (1724–present)	Cyril VI Tanas Athanasius IV Jawhar Maximos II Hakim Theodosius V Dahan Athanasius IV Jawhar Cyril VII Siaj Agapius II Matar Ignatius IV Sarrouf Athanasius V Matar Macarius IV Tawil Ignatius V Qattan Maximos III Mazloum Clement Bahouth Gregory II Youssef-Sayur Peter IV Geraigiry Cyril VIII Geha Demetrius I Qadi Cyril IX Moghabghab Maximos IV Sayegh Maximos V Hakim Gregory III Laham Youssef I Absi
Coptic Catholic (1824–present)	Maximos Jouwed Kyrillos Makarios Stéphanos I Sidarouss Stéphanos II Ghattas Antonios I Naguib Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak
*Markianos is considered Mark II on the Greek side of the subsequent schism, hence this numbering of Mark III. Category Commons

v t e Saints in the Coptic Church
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Prophets	Moses Job Samuel David Hosea Amos Micah Joel Obadiah Jonah Nahum Noah Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Isaiah Jeremiah Baruch Ezekiel Daniel John the Baptist
Theotokos	Mary, Our Lady of Assiut Belarus Poland Warraq Zeitoun
Seven Archangels	Michael Gabriel Raphael Suriel Zedekiel Sarathiel Ananiel
Apostles	Andrew Bartholomew James, son of Alphaeus James, son of Zebedee John Jude Matthew Matthias Paul Peter Philip Simon Thomas
Disciples	Apollos Barnabas Mary Magdalene Phoebe the Deaconess Philemon Priscilla and Aquila Silvanus Stephen Timothy Titus Seventy disciples
Evangelists	Matthew Mark Luke John
Martyrs	21 Martyrs of Libya Abāmūn Abāmūn Abanoub Abaskhiron Alexandrian Martyrs Arianus Apollonia Barbara Bashnouna Basilides and Potamiana Catherine Chrysanthus and Daria Chiaffredo Colluthus Cosmas and Damian Cyprian and Justina Cyrus and John Dasya Demiana Dorothea Elias and companions Epimachus Faustus, Abibus and Dionysius Felix and Regula Gabriel Abdel El-Metgaly Gallicanus George George Bishop of Assiut George El Mozahem Gereon Hor, Besoy, and Daydara Imbaba Martyrs Isaac of Dafra John of Senhout Kosheh martyrs Malati Marina the Martyr Maspero Martyrs Maurice Memnon Menas Mohrael Moura Nag Hammadi Otimus Philomena Philotheos Rais Sarah Sidhom Bishay Theban Legion Thecla Theoclia Theodora and Didymus Theodore Stratelates Varus Veronica Wadamoun Wanas
Popes	Mark I Anianus Avilius Kedron Justus Eumenes Markianos Celadion Agrippinus Julian Demetrius I Heraclas Dionysius Theonas Felix of Rome Peter I Alexander I Athanasius I Peter II Timothy I Theophilus I Cyril I Dioscorus I Timothy II Peter III Dioscorus II Timothy III Theodosius I Peter IV Damian Anastasius Andronicus Benjamin I Agathon Simeon I Alexander II Theodore I Michael I John IV Mark II James Simeon II Joseph I Michael II Cosmas II Michael III Gabriel I Cosmas III Abraham Zacharias Cyril II Macarius II Matthew I Gabriel VII John XIV Cyril V Macarius III Cyril VI
Bishops	Abadiu of Antinoe Abraam of Faiyum Alexander of Jerusalem Amun of Scetis Basil of Caesarea Cyril of Jerusalem Epiphanius of Cyprus Eusebius of Caesarea Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Neocaesarea Ignatius of Antioch Jacob of Nisibis James of Jerusalem John of Nikiû John of Jerusalem Karas of California Mikhaeil of Asyut Narcissus of Jerusalem Nicholas of Myra Paphnutius of Scetis Paphnutius of Thebes Polycarp of Smyrna Porphyrius of Gaza Psote of Ebsay Serapion of Thmuis Severian of Gabala Yousab el-Abah of Girga
Monks and nuns	Abdel Messih El-Makari Abib and Apollo Abraham of Farshut Abraham of Scetis Amun Anthony the Great Awgin Bashnouna Hilarion Horsiesius Hospitius Mother Irini Isaac of Nineveh Isidore of Pelusium John Climacus John the Dwarf Macarius of Alexandria Macarius of Egypt Marina the Monk Moses the Black Nilus of Sinai Pachomius the Great Pambo Parsoma Patapios Paul of Thebes Paul of Tammah Paul the Simple Petronius Pishoy Poemen Samuel the Confessor Sisoes the Great Tekle Haymanot Theodorus of Tabennese Theodora of Alexandria
Anchorites	Karas Mary Misael Onuphrius Paphnutius Paul Pijimi Shenouda Thomas Zosimas
Other saints	Ambrose Clement of Alexandria Didymus the Blind Euphrosyne Habib Girgis Candidus Simon the Tanner Three Holy Children Maximus and Domatius Verena
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