Tétraévangéliaire bohaïrique - BNF Copte 13 f1v - Portrait de Marc III (cropped)

Mark III ( el, Μάρκος Γ΄) served as Greek Patriarch of Alexandria between 1180 and 1209.

Relations with the Church of Rome

At the time, many Latin merchants had settled in Egypt, along with priest chaplains, and Latin prisoners held by the Muslims. In 1190, Mark wrote to the Byzantine Canonist from Antioch

Theodore Balsamon Theodore Balsamon ( el, Θεόδωρος Βαλσαμῶν) was a canonist of the Eastern Orthodox Church and 12th-century Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. Biography Born in the second half of the 12th century at Constantinople; died there, ...

for his opinion on whether or not it was permitted to continue the practice of admitting the Latins to Holy Communion. Although the Canonist gave an uncompromisingly negative answer, Mark rejected it. Mark continued to remember the Pope of Rome in the diptychs and administer Holy Communion to Latins.Steven Runciman. ''The Eastern Schism''. (Oxford, 1955). p. 99.

References

* Coptic Orthodox saints 12th-century Patriarchs of Alexandria 13th-century Patriarchs of Alexandria 13th-century Christian saints {{Saint-stub