Saint Modestus of Jerusalem ()
English Historical Review 25 (1910) pp. 502-517 was Patriarch of Jerusalem from 632-634. He is commemorated as a saint by the Catholic Church on December 17, and by the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, on May 17, March 29 or December 16. The Palestinian-Georgian calendar venerates him on December 16 and October 19 in the ''

Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, organised by the saints' feast days. The project was conceived and ...

''.

Life

He was born in Cappadocian Sebasteia. Five months old at his Christian parents' death, he was raised as a Christian. As an adult he was sold as a slave in Egypt, but converted his pagan master to Christianity and was freed by him. Withdrawing to

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...

to live as an

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

, he was later made abbot of the Monastery of St. Theodosius in Palestine. In 614 Chosroes II destroyed

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, killed 66,509 Christians and captured the Patriarch of Jerusalem (then Zacharias), other Christians and the

True Cross According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the real instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified. It is related by numerous historical accounts and Christian mythology, legends ...

. Modestus had been on his way to raise Greek troops to oppose this and was surrounded by Persian troops, having a narrow escape. Modestus was then chosen to stand in for Zacharias as Patriarch. He buried the monks killed at the monastery of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified and rebuilt the

Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Some ...

, the city's churches and monasteries with help from

John the Merciful John V Eleemon (), also known as John the Almsgiver, John the Almoner, John the Compassionate, or John the Merciful, was the Chalcedonian/Melkite Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century (from 606 to 616). He was born in Amathus around ...

Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major epi ...

. He became patriarch in his own right after Zacharias died in Persia when

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

visited the city to restore the True Cross in March 630. On Modestus's death he was buried in the Church of the Eleona on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet (; ; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem, east of and adjacent to Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive, olive ...

.Revue Eleona, April 1961

References

External links

Building projects of ModestusOrthodox Church in America - Modestus of Jerusalem
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Modestus of Jerusalem 7th-century patriarchs of Jerusalem 7th-century Christian saints Christian slaves and freedmen 630 deaths Saints from the Holy Land