Zacharias, Patriarch of Jerusalem
ZACHARIAS, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM
B. probably Constantinople; d. Jerusalem, Feb. 21, 631. He was a priest and guardian of the sacred vessels in the hagia sophia at Constantinople, who became patriarch of Jerusalem in 609 succeeding Isaac. During the Persian invasion of 614, after having attempted to prevent the seizure of Jerusalem and the massacre of its inhabitants, he was captured and sent in exile to Persia. He wrote an encyclical letter to the Church of Jerusalem exhorting its people to penance and patience. Liberated after the victory over the Persians by heraclius in 628, he reentered Jerusalem with the relic of the true Cross. During his absence, with the aid of (St.) john the almsgiver of Alexandria, a restoration of the sacred monuments had been started by the superior of the Monastery of St. Theodosius, the Abbot Modestus, who succeeded Zacharias as patriarch (631–634).
Bibliography: Patrologia Graeca 86.2:3227–34. Acta Sanctorum Feb. 3:250–251. o. bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur 5:41. m. le quien, Oriens Christianus 3:249–258. h. g. beck, Kirche und theologische Literatur im byzantinischen Reich 448, 450, 454.
[i. h. dalmais]