Pope Theodosius I of Alexandria (died June 5, 566) was the last

Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...

recognised by both

Copts Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are C ...

and Melchites. As successor to Timothy III (IV), at the request of the Arab king Al-Harith ibn Jabalah al-Ghassani and Empress Theodora's efforts,

Jacob Baradaeus Jacob Baradaeus (; grc, Ἰάκωβος Βαραδαῖος, label=Ancient Greek, Greek; ar, مار يعقوب البرادعي; syc, ܝܥܩܘܒ ܒܘܪܕܥܝܐ, label=Syriac language, Syriac), also known as Jacob bar Addai or Jacob bar Theophi ...

ordained a universal bishop in 543/4 AD by Mor Theodosius. He was at first recognized by the Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. However, because of his

Miaphysite Miaphysitism is the Christology, Christological doctrine that holds Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, the "Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnate Logos (Christianity), Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' (''physis'')." It is a posi ...

theology, he was rejected by the

Eastern Orthodox Church of Alexandria The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa ( grc, Πατριαρχεῖον Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ πάσης Ἀφρικῆς, Patriarcheîon Alexandreías kaì pásēs Aphrikês, The Patriarchate of Alexandria and ...

and exiled by the Emperor

in 536. In his place,

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

was elected Patriarch.Copticchurch.net
/ref> As the Copts continued to recognise Theodosius, the lineage between the

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

and

Melchite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", an ...

split. This split endures until today. Theodosius spent the last 28 years of his life imprisoned in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient ...

and after his death the Coptic Church elected Peter IV as his successor. Theodosius is commemorated in the Coptic ''

Synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛⲁ ...

'' on the 28th day of Ba'unah (June 5), the day of his death.

References

;General * Dietmar W. Winkler: Theodosios von Alexandrien (535–566), Ökumenischer Patriarch der Miaphysiten, in: ''Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie'' 121 (1999) 396–412. * Dietmar W. Winkler: Theodosios of Alexandria and some theological trends of his time (535–566), in: ''The Harp. A Review of Syriac and Oriental Ecumenical Studies'' 21 (2006) 73–89. * * ;Specific , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodosius 01 Of Alexandria, Pope 567 deaths Coptic Orthodox saints 6th-century Popes and Patriarchs of Alexandria 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown