Joannes ELEEMOSYNARIUS
55. ELEEMOSYNARIUS the ALMONER, patriarch of Alexandria early in the seventh century. He was appointed to the patriarchate in A. D. 606, or, according to some of our authorities, in A. D. 609; and was dead in or before A. D. 616.
Works
Epistola ad Caesarium
Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, ascribed to Joannes Eleemosynarius the celebrated Epistola ad Caesarium, which is by most Protestant critics, and by some Roman Catholics, ascribed to Chrysostom; and which is appealed to as containing a clear declaration against the doctrine of transubstantiation.
Accounts of his Life
Life by Joannes Moschus
The eminence of Joannes is evidenced by the fact that three biographical accounts of him were written; one, not now extant, by Joannes Moschus [MOSCHUS] and Sophronius.
Life by Leontius, bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus
A second life is by Leontius, bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus, of which a Latin version, made in the ninth century by Anastasius Bibliothecarius, has been repeatedly printed.
Editions
It is given, with a Commentarius Praevius, in the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandists (Januar. 23. vol. ii. p. 495).
Life by Symeon Metaphrastes or by some older Greek writer
The third life is either by Symeon Metaphrastes, or by some older Greek writer.
Editions
A Latin version of it, by Gentianus Hervetus, was published by Aloysius Lippomani (De Vitis Sanctorum, a. d. 12 Novemb.), by Surius (De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis, a. d. 23 Januor.), and in the Acta Sanctorum of the Bollandists (ut supra).
Further Information
Fabric. Bibl. Gr. vol. i. p. 699, note xx.; vol. viii. p. 322, vol. x. p. 262.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.