Athanasius III (II), Melkite Patriarch of Alexandria

ATANASIO III (II), Melkite patriarch of ALEXANDRIA. – Died in Crete or Sinai between 1316 and 1320. A monk at Sinai, he became dissident patriarch of Alexandria in 1276. Because of the persecutions of the Mamluks, after two years he left Egypt and came to Constantinople, where he became involved in religious affairs. He rejected the Union of Lyon (1274) and in 1283 presided over the Synod that deposed Bekkos. He nevertheless broke with Patriarch Gregorios and refused to sign the Second Synod of Blachernae (cf. V. Laurent, Les signataires du second synode des Blachernes, in Echos d’Orient, 26 [1921], p. 137); consequently, he was exiled (1304) and then deposed (1308) by the overly severe Atanasio I. He then departed for Crete, where there was a metochion of Sinai. During the journey he was captured twice by the Latins, but knew how to free himself.