Pope Anastasius of Alexandria
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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 Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...
as they worked to arrange the unification of their two churches.


Life

He was one of the great noblemen of
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. Before he became a Pope, he was an overseer of the patriarchal court, then he became a priest for the church of Alexandria. Shortly afterwards, he was unanimously selected by the bishops and clergy of the Coptic Church to succeed
Pope Damian of Alexandria Damian of Alexandria (died 605) was the List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria, Coptic pope and patriarch of Alexandria from 576. Originally from Syria, where his brother was a prefect in Edessa, Mesopotamia, Edessa, he became a monk in his ...
as Patriarch. His biography was written by Severus Ibn al-Muqaffa in his ''
History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria The ''History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria'' is a major historical work of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It is written in Arabic, but draws extensively on Greek and Coptic sources. The compilation was based on earlier biographical ...
''. 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 The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...
's decisions were very strong at the time, both in Alexandria and in the court of
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. Not only were Coptic bishops of this time not officially recognized, they were also forbidden to enter
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. The Coptic church in Alexandria was understandably troubled by this arrangement, which was instituted under the reign of
Tiberius II Constantine Tiberius II Constantine ( grc-gre, Τιβέριος Κωνσταντῖνος, Tiberios Konstantinos; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, prior to a mental breakdown, proc ...
, and his local adjutant named Belisarius. This persecution continued after the death of Tiberius under his son,
Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
. After the murder of Maurice by
Phocas Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers ...
, who had overthrown him earlier, the situation deteriorated still further. A citizen of Alexandria who adhered to the
Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...
's edicts,
Eulogius of Alexandria Eulogius of Alexandria ( grc-gre, Εὐλόγιος) was Greek Patriarch of that see from about 580 to 608. He is regarded as a saint, with a feast day of September 13. Life Eulogius was first igumen of the monastery of the Mother of God in An ...
, wrote a defamatory letter to Photas regarding Anastasius. Photas responded by issuing an order to his
prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...
in Alexandria that the important church of
Cosmas and Damian Cosmas and Damian ( ar, قُزما ودميان, translit=Qozma wa Demyaan; grc-gre, Κοσμᾶς καὶ Δαμιανός, translit=Kosmás kai Damianós; la, Cosmas et Damianus; AD) were two Arab physicians in the town Cyrrhus, and were r ...
, and all its dependent churches, be turned over to Eulogius, who became the recognized Patriarch of Alexandria. Anastasius, deeply saddened by this, left for a nearby monastery. 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 The Church of Antioch ( ar, كنيسة أنطاكية, Romanization: kánīsa ʾanṭākiya, IPA: a.niː.sa ʔan.tˤaː.ki.ja was the first of the five major churches of the early pentarchy in Christianity, with its primary seat in the ancient ...
. 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, 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. 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. 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.


Veneration

Anastasius is considered a saint by the
Coptic Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي ...
. His feast day is celebrated on 18 December.Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1924.


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anastasius Of Alexandria 6th-century births 616 deaths 7th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria 7th-century Christian saints Coptic Orthodox saints