Anastasius II of Jerusalem


Anastasius II of Jerusalem was patriarch of the Church of Jerusalem from an unknown date until 706 as the see of Jerusalem came under control of their Muslim conquerors and church life was disrupted by the Monothelite controversy.
The records for the Patriarchate of Jerusalem after the reign of Patriarch Sophronius are sparse and tempered by Muslim interventions. After the death of Patr. Sophronius in 638, Bishop Stephen of Dora was Patriarchal Vicar assisted by John of Philadelphia. During the same period, the Muslims attempted to seat the Monothelite Bishop Sergius of Jaffa as the patriarch, but the Orthodox clergy, including Stephen of Dora, would not recognized him.
To strengthen the position of the Orthodox, Stephen of Dora traveled to Pope Martin in Rome who on Stephen's recommendation assigned Bp. John of Philadelphia as Patriarchal Vicar for the Church of Jerusalem. Pope Martin also sent letters that announced his decision and asked that John be recognized. From this time on there are no records about the patriarchate until 705. During this period it is only known that Anastasius had signed the decisions, probably as the patriarch, of the Quinisext Council of 692 in Constantinople during which the decision was made that the Jerusalem patriarchate occupied fifth position in the ranks of the patriarchates.