Patriarch
Saint Gerasimos was born in Chandax on the island of Crete. His first teacher was his father, Protopresbyter Theodore. After receiving home education, he obtained higher education in Venice, where he studied Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. After the capture of Chandax by the Turks, he moved to the Peloponnese and then to Kastoria, where he became a teacher and preacher. Later, he was appointed as the archpastor of the Kastoria diocese and managed the Adrianople diocese.
After the death of Patriarch of Alexandria Parthenius in 1688, Gerasimos was elected as the new patriarch. He was distinguished by his holy life and was accused of introducing innovations in the Divine Liturgy, but he was justified. He managed the Orthodox Church in Egypt for 22 years, after which he renounced the patriarchate and retired to Mount Athos, where he soon passed away. Saint Gerasimos was glorified by the Alexandrian Orthodox Church, and his memory was included in the diptych of saints of the Russian Orthodox Church on May 7, 2003.
