Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem

Also known as

• Sophronius of Damascus
• Sophronius the Sophist

Memorial

• 11 March

Profile

Travelled widely in the East and West. Taught rhetoric. Monk in Palestine at several houses, including at Bethlehem. Lived several years at Alexandria, Egypt near Saint John the Almoner. Ecclesiastical writer of distinction. Poet and extensive correspondent; some of his writings have survived. Fought the Monothelitism heresy. Patriach of Jerusalem from 634 until his death. Driven from the city by Saracens in 637, he eventually negotiated a peace that guaranteed a level of protection to the city’s Christians.

Born

• Damascus, Syria

Died

• c.638; sources disagree on cause and location

Canonized

• Pre-Congregation

Additional Information

• Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
• Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
• Medieval Religion Listserv, by John Dillon
• Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
• Wikipedia

MLA Citation

• “Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem“. Saints.SQPN.com. 10 March 2013. Web. 20 May 2013. <>