Sophronius of Jerusalem


Sophronius
Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem
Patriarch of Jerusalem
Bornc. 560
Damascus, Byzantine Empire
Died11 March 638(638-03-11) (aged 77–78)
Jerusalem, Rashidun Caliphate
Venerated inEastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church
Feast11 March [O.S. 24 March (where the Julian calendar is used)]
AttributesVested as a bishop, with right hand upheld in blessing, holding a Gospel Book or scroll

Sophronius (Greek: Σωφρόνιος; Arabic: صفرونيوس; c. 560 – March 11, 638), called Sophronius the Sophist,[1] was the Patriarch of Jerusalem from 634 until his death.[2] He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Before rising to the primacy of the see of Jerusalem, he was a monk and theologian who was the chief protagonist for orthodox teaching in the doctrinal controversy on the essential nature of Jesus and his volitional acts. He is also renowned for negotiation of surrender of Jerusalem to the Muslim caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab.

  1. ^ John F. Matthews, "Sophronius, 'the Sophist'", in Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth and Esther Eidinow (eds.), The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2012). ISBN 9780191735257
  2. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sophronius" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 429.