The patriarchs of Alexandria

The Alexandrian succession

The patriarchs of Alexandria have served through the Church's apostolic beginnings, its great theological councils, centuries of political change and the growth of its African mission. This register follows the Patriarchate's official catalogue and brings its succession together in chronological order.

The catalogue spans apostolic, patristic, Byzantine, medieval and modern periods. It includes the contested successions of the fifth and sixth centuries, when the reception of Chalcedon divided the Alexandrian Church. Chronology notes accompany those periods.

Some patriarchs returned to office after an interruption. Samuel Kapasoulis and Kosmas II each served in two periods; their restored tenures appear in the entries. The chronology notes explain the seventh-century administration and the entries with open dates.

The register follows the names and date headings of the Patriarchate's current catalogue. A separate historical note records Eulogius II, Theodosius II and two later seventh-century names found in an older Greek table.

Sources: Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 1 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 2 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 3 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 4 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 5 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 6 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 7 · Alex. Max de Zogheb, L'Église d'Alexandrie (Cairo, 1894), pp.29–31

The present patriarch

Theodore II was elected on 9 October 2004 and enthroned in the Annunciation Cathedral in Alexandria on 24 October. His official biography describes an episcopal ministry in Cameroon and Zimbabwe before his election, followed by pastoral and missionary service across Africa.

Sources: Patriarchate of Alexandria — History · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Biography of Theodoros II

From Saint Mark to Theodore II

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Chronology notes

First century

The official catalogue records Mark as 40–63 and Anianos as 62–82. The Patriarchate's history places the foundation in AD 43. The entries preserve these traditional chronologies as recorded in the sources.

Sources: Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 7 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — History

451–536

The official catalogue includes Dioscurus, Timothy Ailuros, Peter Mongos and other patriarchs of the period surrounding Chalcedon. Rival elections and changes of imperial policy shaped these successions. Separate Greek Orthodox and Coptic patriarchal lines emerged during the sixth century.

Sources: Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 5 · Evagrius Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History III.4, 6, 11–14

652–727

The Patriarchate records a period of coadjutor administration and identifies Peter V and Peter VI through council attestations. An 1894 historical table also records John and Eutyches/Eutychius. The surviving lists differ in their names and dates for these years.

Sources: Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 4 · Alex. Max de Zogheb, L'Église d'Alexandrie (Cairo, 1894), pp.29–31 · Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire I — Melkite Patriarchs of Alexandria

903–907; 960–963; 1567–1569; 1967–1968

The official catalogue leaves intervals between dated incumbents in these years.

Sources: Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 4 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 2 · Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 1

Twelfth century

The catalogue gives open dates for Kyrillos II (1100–?) and Savvas (1117–?). An older Greek table also includes Theodosius II and Eulogius II, whose dates are unknown; their entries appear in the historical note below.

Sources: Patriarchate of Alexandria — Previous Patriarchs, page 3 · Alex. Max de Zogheb, L'Église d'Alexandrie (Cairo, 1894), pp.29–31