Apollinarius of Alexandria

Apollinarius was patriarch of Alexandria from 551 to 568 or 569, placed on the throne by the emperor Justinian. Before that he had been a reader in the monastery of Salama. In the Orthodox Church he is venerated as a saint. The sources do not agree about the year of his death: some say about 568, others 569.

He came to the patriarchal throne after the emperor Justinian I removed Patriarch Zoilus. By the emperor's order he also became the governor of the city. At the beginning of 553 he signed the letter of Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople to Pope Vigilius, calling on the pope to preside at the Ecumenical Council on the matter of the "Three Chapters". He was present at all the sessions of the Fifth Ecumenical Council and signed its definitions of faith.

A Greek source says that he ruled with harshness and so roused the Copts against him. These testimonies do not fit easily with the veneration he enjoys as a saint, but the sources we have do not explain further.