Basil of Jerusalem was the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Church of Jerusalem from 821 to 842. During his episcopate, Basil actively opposed the

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

that was supported by the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Theophilus Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection) can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend of God", i.e., it is a theoph ...

Life

Basil, who was a follower of his predecessor Patriarch

Thomas I of Jerusalem Thomas I of Jerusalem, also known in Persian as Tamriq, was the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Church of Jerusalem from 807 to 821. Patriarch Thomas held a firm Orthodox theological position and opposed both the iconoclasts and the filioque. He is ...

, was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem in 821. He actively opposed iconoclasm. In 836, he convened a council in Jerusalem that defended the veneration of

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s. From the council, Basil sent this position of the council to emperor Theophilus in a letter carried by

syncellus ''Synkellos'' ( el, σύγκελλος), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major import ...

Michael. Theophilus, who was a confirmed iconoclast, jailed Michael upon his arrival. In 841, Basil was able to fend off an attack on Jerusalem by the Arab rebel

Abu Harb al-Mubarqa Abū Ḥarb al-Yamānī () or, according to Ya'qubi, Tamīm al-Lak̲h̲mī (), better known by his ''laqab'' of al-Mubarqaʿ (), was the leader of a rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate in Palestine in 841/42. Revolt According to al-Tabari, who ...

and his army of thirty thousand by buying him off. Basil died the following year, 842, and was succeeded by Sergius I who was made the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

by the Arabs.

Sources

The History of the Church of Jerusalem
* 9th-century patriarchs of Jerusalem Melkites in the Abbasid Caliphate 842 deaths Byzantine Iconoclasm Palestine under the Abbasid Caliphate {{EarlyChurch-bishop-stub