Zacharias of Jerusalem

Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem from 609–632 CE

Zacharias of Jerusalem was the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Church of Jerusalem from 609 to 632. Zacharias spent most of his patriarchate as a prisoner of the Sasanian Emperor Khosrow II following the Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem.[1] He is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on February 21.[2][3] He is also venerated in the Catholic Church, where he is known mostly for the sacramental called the "Plague Cross of Saint Zacharias of Jerusalem".[4]

The early life of Zacharias is unknown. He was elected patriarch in 609. During the reign of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, the Sasanians invaded Byzantine Syria, taking Jerusalem in 614. According to Sebeos, they seized True Cross in addition to taking tens of thousands of Christian prisoners, including Zacharias.

In 627, after rebuilding his army, Heraclius counter-attacked into Persia. Winning a decisive victory at Nineveh, Heraclius compelled the Persians to return the True Cross and the surviving captives, including Patriarch Zacharias.

Zacharias died in 632. Patriarch Modestus, who had acted as locum tenens during Zacharias's captivity succeeded him on the patriarchal throne.

## In Western Christianity

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A Plague Cross sacramental, worn as a cross necklace to offer protection during plagues

The Council of Trent (1545–1563) approved a "Plague Cross of Saint Zacharias of Jerusalem" (also referred to as a plague cross), which contains an acrostic for a prayer against plagues.[4][5] The prayer, attributed to St Zacharias, is said to have been useful against pestilence in the time of the saint, and the inscribed cross is said to have saved from a plague the participants at the Council of Trent.[6] The cross, sometimes made of wood or inscribed on paper, cloth, or drawn with blessed chalk, and its associated blessing, are a sacramental used by Western Christians, and have seen a resurgence of use during times of plagues and pestilence, such as the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-22. Plague crosses often take the form of a cross necklace (which is worn by believers) or a wall cross (which is hung on the walls of homes, hospitals, offices and churches).[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Professor F.C. Conybeare. Antiochus Strategos, The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 AD. English Historical Review 25 (1910) pp. 502-517.
2. ^ Great Synaxaristes: (Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Ζαχαρίας Πατριάρχης Ἱεροσολύμων. 21 Φεβρουαρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
3. ^ St. Zacharias, Patriarch of Jerusalem.
4. ^ a b c Sannig, Bernard (29 July 2020). The Plague Cross of St. Zacharias. Caritas Publishing. p. 3.
5. ^ Prayers against the Plague: For Victims of the Coronavirus, at Tradistae, 13 March 2020, retrieved 7 August 2021.
6. ^ Virus Protection, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, Milwaukee parish bulletin, 3 May 2020, retrieved 7 August 2021.

## External links

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* Plague Cross holy card - Caritas Publishing

Religious titles

Preceded by

Isaac of Jerusalem

|  Patriarch of Jerusalem
609-632  | Succeeded by

Modestus of Jerusalem

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Bishops and patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem

Bishops of Jerusalem
(until 451)|

* James, brother of Jesus
* Simeon of Jerusalem
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Patriarchs of Jerusalem
(from 451)|

* Juvenal
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* Martyrius
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* John III
* Peter
* Macarius II
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* Modestus
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* John VI
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* John VII
* Christodulus II
* Thomas II
* Joseph II
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* Euthemius
* Simeon II
* Savvas§
* John VIII§
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* John IX§
* Nicephorus II§
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* Dositheos I
* Marcus II
* Euthemius II
* Athanasius II
* Sophronius III
* Gregory I
* Thaddaeus
* Athanasius III
* Gregory II
* Lazarus
* Dorotheus I
* Theophilus II
* Theophanes I
* Joachim
* Theophanes II
* Athanasius IV
* Jacob II
* Abraham I
* Gregory III
* Marcus III
* Dorotheus II
* Germanus
* Sophronius IV
* Theophanes III
* Paiseus
* Nectarius I
* Dositheos II
* Chrysanthus
* Meletius
* Parthenius
* Ephram II
* Sophronius V
* Abraham II
* Procopius I
* Anthemus
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* Athanasius V
* Cyril II
* Procopius II
* Hierotheus
* Nicodemus I
* Gerasimus I
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* Diodoros I
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* Theophilus III

§: in exile at Constantinople due to the Latin rule over Jerusalem

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