Arsenius ( gr, Ἀρσένιος) served as Greek Patriarch of Alexandria between 1000 and 1010. Arsenius was most likely of Byzantine Greek origin, possibly of the provincial aristocracy of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

who were captured in the wars against the Byzantines there sometime before 965. His sister became a favourite concubine of the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...

caliph al-Aziz Billah (), and mother of the celebrated princess

Sitt al-Mulk Sitt al-Mulk ( ar, ست الملك, , Lady of the Kingdom ; 970–1023), was a Fatimid princess. After the disappearance of her half-brother, the caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, in 1021, she was instrumental in securing the succession of her ne ...

. Through her influence he was appointed

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...

Fustat Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by t ...

and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

in January 986, and Patriarch of Alexandria in June 1000. His brother

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness an ...

was likewise the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem in 986–1006. Other modern scholars consider the brothers to have been related to a different concubine, the mother of Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (), and thus maternal uncles to the caliph. Arsenius frequently resided at the monastery of Dayr al-Qasir ("Monastery of the

Dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

") on the Muqattam hills south of Fustat, which he fortified with a wall and rebuilt and expanded. His brother left for

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

in 1000 to negotiate a treaty between the Fatimid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire, and remained there until his death in 1006. During his absence, and the subsequent vacancy of the patriarchal throne, Arsenios was the steward of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem as well. During his ascendancy, Arsenius used his influence at court to strengthen the Melkites against the

Coptic Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

. When al-Hakim began to persecute Christians, however, starting with the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1009, Arsenius and his monastery too were not spared: on 18 April 1010, the monastery was destroyed, and even the cemeteries outside its walls were reportedly dug up. Arsenius himself was secretly executed in July of the same year.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arsenius Of Alexandria 11th-century Patriarchs of Alexandria 1010 deaths Melkites in the Fatimid Caliphate People executed by the Fatimid Caliphate Christians executed for refusing to convert to Islam 10th-century people from the Fatimid Caliphate 11th-century people from the Fatimid Caliphate 10th-century Byzantine people 11th-century Byzantine people