Elias II of Jerusalem

Elias II of Jerusalem, also Elijah II, was the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Church of Jerusalem from 782 to 797. Little is known about his activities while he was patriarch.

Early in his career Elias was denounced to the caliph by a monk named Theodorus and was exiled to Persia for some twenty years before he was allowed to return to Jerusalem. After the repose of Theodorus in 782, Eusebius was elected patriarch. However, he died shortly thereafter, and Elias was elected as his successor. In 787, during the Seventh Ecumenical Council a priest by the name of John and Thomas the abbot of the Monastery of St. Arsenius signed the decisions of the Council for the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

On March 19, 797, while Patr. Elias occupied the see of Jerusalem, twenty monks of the Monastery of St. Savas were killed.

Late in 790s, Patr. Elias II's syncellus, George, sent a delegation to Charlemagne in western Europe to solicit help and gain the protection of the Franks against the Muslims in the Holy Lands. In 797, George was elected the new patriarch of Jerusalem. 

Succession box: Elias II of Jerusalem
Preceded by: Eusebius	Patriarch of Jerusalem 782-797	Succeeded by: George

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Sources

• Elias II, patriarch of Jerusalem (787-797)
• George of Jerusalem