Christopher of Antioch

Chalcedonian patriarch

This article is about the 10th-century patriarch of Antioch. He should not be confused with Saint Christopher, who is also sometimes associated with Antioch.

Christopher of Antioch

Patriarch of Antioch
Church| Chalcedonian Church of Antioch
See| Antioch
Installed| 960
Term ended| May 23, 967
Predecessor| Agapius I
Successor| Eustratius
Personal details
Born|

ʻĪsá

Baghdad

Died| May 23, 967
Antioch

Christopher (Arabic: خريسطوفورس, Kharīsṭūfūrus) was Chalcedonian Patriarch of Antioch from 960 to 967.[1][2]

## Biography

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A native of Baghdad who was originally named ʻĪsá, he moved to Syria under the rule of Sayf al-Dawla, the Hamdanid emir of Aleppo,[3] and took a job as secretary to a subordinate emir in Shaizar. He intervened in Church controversies in Antioch and its Christian residents selected him as the new patriarch upon the death of Agapius I.

As patriarch, Christopher undertook educational and charitable efforts to help his Christian subjects, including negotiations with Sayf al-Dawla for tax reduction. When a rebellion broke out in Antioch in 965, led by Rashiq al-Nasimi, Christopher took the side of the emir and withdrew to the monastery of Simeon Stylites in order to avoid interaction with the rebels. After the rebellion was finally suppressed, this made the patriarch a favorite at the court of Sayf al-Dawla, but created enemies within Antioch.

When Sayf al-Dawla died in early 967, Christopher's enemies took advantage of the momentary power vacuum and plotted against him. Although he was warned of this danger by a Muslim friend named Ibn Abī ʻAmr, Christopher chose to remain in Antioch. Accusing the patriarch of conspiring against Antioch with Sayf al-Dawla's allies and with the Byzantines, the plotters convinced a group of visiting soldiers from Khorasan to kill him on the night of May 23, 967. His head was cut off and his body was thrown into the Orontes River. Shortly thereafter, a group of local Christians found the body in the river and took it in secret to a local monastery, where Christopher began to be venerated as a martyr.

In late 969, the armies of Emperor Nikephoros II conquered Antioch, and the new patriarch of Antioch (Theodorus II) brought Christopher's body into the city for public veneration. He was finally interred in a marble sarcophagus on the western side of the church of St. Peter.

## Legacy

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For centuries, Christopher was venerated as a saint by the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch on either May 21 or May 22, as shown by liturgical manuscripts in both Syriac and Arabic that include calendars of saints.[4] However, with the growing dominance of the Byzantine Rite in early modern Syria, his veneration fell into disuse.

## Sources

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By far the most detailed source for Christopher's life is the Life of Christopher by Ibrahim ibn Yuhanna, a Byzantine bureaucrat who knew Christopher as a child in Antioch.[5] This text was originally written in both Greek and Arabic, but only the Arabic version survives. It was edited and translated into French by Habib Zayat in 1952.[1] Significant portions of his story are also included in the history of Yahya of Antioch,[6] and brief notices—centered on Christopher's death—appear in the Byzantine histories of Leo the Deacon and John Skylitzes.

## References

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1. ^ a b Zayat, Habib (1952). "Vie du patriarche melkite d'Antioche Christophore (†967) par le protospathaire Ibrahim b. Yuhanna: Document inédit du Xe siècle". Proche-Orient chrétien. 2: 11–38, 333–366.
2. ^ Bīṭār, Tūmā (1995). Al-Qiddīsūn al-mansiyyūn fī al-turāth al-Anṭākī. Duma, Lebanon: ‘Ā’ilat al-Thālūth al-Quddūs. pp. 373–387.
3. ^ Giorgi, Andrea U. De; Eger, A. Asa (30 May 2021). Antioch: A History. Routledge. pp. 282–283, 297. ISBN 978-1-317-54041-0. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
4. ^ Sauget, Joseph-Marie (1969). Premières recherches sur l'origine et les caractéristiques des synaxaires melkites (XIe-XVIIe siècles). Brussels: Société des Bollandistes. pp. 380–383.
5. ^ Lamoreaux, John. "Qiṣṣa sīrat al-baṭriyark ʿalā Anṭākiyya al-shahīd Kharīsṭūfūrus wa-shahādatihi bihā, allafahā Ibrāhīm ibn Yuḥannā [sc. Yūḥannā] al-ibrūṭusbāthār al-Malakī bihā yūnāniyyan thumma naqalahā ayḍan ʿarabiyyan". Christian-Muslim Relations 600 - 1500. Brill. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
6. ^ Anṭākī, Yaḥyā b. Sa‘īd b. Yaḥyā (1924). "Histoire de Yahya-Ibn-Sa'ïd d'Antioche, continuateur de Sa'ïd-Ibn-Bitriq". Patrologia Orientalis. 18 (5): 778, 798, 806–810.

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Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Antioch

6th–9th centuries|

* Paul II (518–521)
* Euphrasius (521–526)
* Ephraim (526–546)
* Domnus III (546–561)
* Anastasius I  (561–571)
* Gregory I (571–594)
* Anastasius I (594–599)
* Anastasius II (599–609)
* Gregory II (610–620)
* Anastasius III (620–628)
* Macedonius (628–640)
* George I (640–656)
* Macarius I (656–681)
* Theophanes (681–687)
* Sebastian (687–690)
* George II (690–695)
* Alexander II (695–702)
* Stephen IV (742–744)
* Theophylact (744–751)
* Theodore I
* Theodoret
* John III
* Job I (810–826)
* Nicholas I (826–834)
* Simeon I (834–840)
* Elias I (840–852)
* Theodosius I (852–860)
* Nicholas II (860–879)
* Michael I (879–890)
* Zacharias (890–902)

10th–13th centuries|

* George III (902–917)
* Job II (917–939)
* Eustratius (939–960)
* Christopher I (960–966)
* Theodore II (966–977)
* Agapius (977–995)
* John IV (995–1000)
* Nicholas III (1000–1003)
* Elias II (1003–1010)
* George Lascaris (1010–1015)
* Macarius the Virtuous (1015–1023)
* Eleutherius (1023–1028)
* Peter III (1028–1051)
* John V  (1051–1062)
* Aemilian (1062–1075)
* Theodosius II (1075–1084)
* Nicephorus (1084–1090)
* John VI (1090–1155)
* John VII (1155–1159)†
* Euthymius I (1159–1164)†
* Macarius II (1164–1166)†
* Athanasius I (1166–1180)†
* Theodosius III (1180–1182)†
* Elias III (1182–1184)†
* Christopher II (1184–1185)†
* Theodore IV (1185–1199)†
* Joachim I (1199–1219)†
* Dorotheus I (1219–1245)†
* Simeon II (1245–1268)†
* Euthymius II (1268–1269)†
* Theodosius IV (1269–1276)†
* Theodosius V (1276–1285)
* Arsenius (1285–1293)
* Dionysius (1293–1308)

14th–17th centuries|

* Mark (1308–1342)
* Ignatius II (1342–1386)
* Pachomius I (1386–1393)
* Nilus (1393–1401)
* Michael III (1401–1410)
* Pachomius II (1410–1411)
* Joachim II (1411–1426)
* Mark III (1426–1436)
* Dorotheus II (1436–1454)
* Michael IV (1454–1476)
* Mark IV (1476)
* Joachim III (1476–1483)
* Gregory III (1483–1497)
* Dorotheus III (1497–1523)
* Michael V (1523–1541)
* Dorotheus IV (1541–1543)
* Joachim IV (1543–1576)
* Michael VI (1577–1581)
* Joachim V (1553–1592)
* Joachim VI (1593–1604)
* Dorotheus V (1604–1611)
* Athanasius II (1611–1619)
* Ignatius III (1619–1634)
* Euthymius III  (1634–1635)
* Euthymius IV (1635–1647)
* Macarius III (1647–1672)
* Neophytos  (1673–1682)
* Athanasius III (1685–1694)
* Cyril V (1694–1720)

18th century–present|

* Athanasius III (1720–1724)
* Sylvester (1724–1766)
* Philemon (1766–1767)
* Daniel (1767–1791)
* Euthymius V (1791–1813)
* Seraphim (1813–1823)
* Methodius (1823–1850)
* Hierotheos (1850–1885)
* Gerasimos (1885–1891)
* Spyridon (1891–1898)
* Meletius II (1899–1906)
* Gregory IV (1906–1928)
* Alexander III (1931–1958)
* Theodosius VI (1958–1970)
* Elias IV (1970–1979)
* Ignatius IV (1979–2012)
* John X (2012–present)

† in exile at Constantinople
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