Patriarch Nicholas I served as Greek Patriarch of Alexandria between 1210 and 1243.

Relations with the Church of Rome

Like his predecessor, Nicholas I maintained communion with the See of Rome. He ordained a Latin rite priest and at the invitation of Innocent III of Rome, sent representatives to participate in the

Fourth Lateran Council The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, many bi ...

(1215).Steven Runciman. ''The Eastern Schism''. (Oxford, 1955). p. 99. In 1218–1219, Crusaders captured

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 ...

as a base to invade and ravage Egypt from the

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...

Muslims. After a crushing defeat in 1221, Crusaders surrendered Damietta and signed an 8-year truce. Native Egyptian Christians underwent renewed persecution by the Muslims in retaliation. Patriarch Nicholas died in deep poverty, 6 years before

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

returned to briefly capture Damietta before being liberated by the Muslims.

References

* 13th-century Patriarchs of Alexandria {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub