Sophronios of Jerusalem

SOPHRONIOS of Jerusalem. b. Damascus, ca. 560; d. 11 March 638. Born in Damascus, he became a monk at the cenobitic monastery of St. Theodosios in the Judean desert. From 578 onwards he undertook several travels in the Mediterranean region. He was patriarch of Jerusalem from 634 till his death, a year after the Arabic occupation of Jerusalem. St. Sophronios grew up within the Antiochian liturgical rite, but became familiar with that of Palestine at St Theodosios; at this time, these rites may have been more or less identical (See Greek hymnody*). The works attributed to Sophronios are discussed by Schönborn, who expresses doubt about the authenticity of several of them (1972, pp. 99-117)...