Basil III, (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: الأنبا باسيليوس‎, Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ), was the 17th Metropolitan of the Holy and Great City of Our Lord, Jerusalem (Holy Zion), and Archbishop of the Holy and Ancient Archdiocese of Jerusalem, all Palestine and the Near East, from 1925 until his death in 1935. During his reign, the Archdiocese of Jerusalem also possessed jurisdiction over the easternmost provinces of Egypt in Al-Sharqyia, Port Said,

Ismailia Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, includi ...

, and

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...

Early life and monasticism

He was born in

Akhmim Akhmim ( ar, أخميم, ; Akhmimic , ; Sahidic/Bohairic cop, ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis or Chemmis ( grc, Χέμμις) and Panopolis ( grc, Πανὸς πόλις and Π� ...

Sohag Governorate Sohag Governorate is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the southern part of the country (Upper Egypt), and covers a stretch of the Nile Valley. Since 1960, its capital has been the city of Sohag. Prior to that, the capital was th ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. He joined the Monastery of Saint Anthony the Great in the

Eastern Desert The Eastern Desert (Archaically known as Arabia or the Arabian Desert) is the part of the Sahara desert that is located east of the Nile river. It spans of North-Eastern Africa and is bordered by the Nile river to the west and the Red Sea an ...

, and was tonsured a monk with the name, Monk James Saint Anthony (). Later he was ordained a priest, and then elevated to the rank of

Hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

, and sent to assist in the service of the See of Jerusalem.

Episcopate

Consecration

Following the death of Metropolitan Timothy of Jerusalem, in 1925, Hegumen James Saint Anthony was nominated for the See. He was consecrated as Basil III, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and Archbishop of all Palestine, Philadelphia of Jordan, and all the Near East, by the hands of

Pope Cyril V of Alexandria Pope Cyril V of Alexandria (Abba Kyrillos V), 112th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark for 52 years, 9 months and 6 days. He was the longest-serving Pope in the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He was born as Youhann ...

and the Bishops and Metropolitans of the

Holy Synod In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...

, on December 27, 1925. Although the Archdiocese of Jerusalem had traditionally incorporated the eastern delta, Al-Daqahlia, Al-Gharbiya, and

Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...

, these provinces were cleaved off and joined into the new Diocese of Al-Mansoura, following the death of Metropolitan Timothy of Jerusalem. Thus, they were not included in Metropolitan Basil III's jurisdiction.

Death

He died on May 9, 1935, after sitting on the See for 10 years. He was buried in the tomb of Metropolitan Basil II of Jerusalem, in the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Joppa.

References

{{S-end Coptic Orthodox bishops 1935 deaths Jerusalem Sohag Governorate