Saint John the Merciful Patriarch of Alexandria

John the Merciful, also called John the Almsgiver, was Patriarch of Alexandria in the early seventh century and is remembered above all for the scale and persistence of his charity. He was born around 552 at Amathus on the island of Cyprus into a noble family; his father, Epiphanius, was a dignitary of the island. At the wish of his parents John married and had children, but after the death of his wife and children he turned to the religious life, devoting himself to fasting and prayer.

When the patriarchal throne of Alexandria fell vacant following the death of Patriarch Theodore, the Emperor Heraclius and the clergy pressed John to accept it, and he was elected to the see while still a layman. As patriarch he made the relief of the poor his chief concern: his stewards drew up registers of those in need, whom he called his "lords and masters," and he devoted the revenues of his see to their support. According to his Life, more than seven thousand poor of Alexandria were sustained daily from the church treasury.

John governed the Alexandrian church during the turbulence of the Persian wars. He opposed heresy and worked to strengthen the Chalcedonian (Orthodox) faith in the city, the sources relating that the number of churches increased greatly during his tenure. When the Persians overran Egypt he was forced to flee Alexandria, returning to his native Cyprus, where he reposed sometime between 616 and 620. He is commemorated on November 12, and his life was recorded by his contemporary Leontius, bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus.