Macarios III Zaim
| Macarios III Zaim | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Antioch | |
 |
|
| Church | Church of Antioch |
| See | Patriarch of Antioch |
| Installed | 12 November 1647 |
| Term ended | 12 June 1672 |
| Predecessor | Euthymius III of Chios |
| Successor | Neophytos of Chios |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 27 October 1635 by Euthymius III of Chios |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | John Zaim |
| Born | Aleppo |
| Died | 12 June 1672 Damascus |
Patriarch Yousef Yuhanna Meletios Macarios III Zaim (died 1672) was Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 1647 to 1672. He led a period of blossoming of his Church and he is also remembered for his travels in Russia and for his involvement in the reforms of Russian Patriarch Nikon.
Yousef Zaim was born in Aleppo, son of the priest Paul and he was a disciple of Euthymius II Karmah. He was ordained priest (taking the name of Yuhanna) after the marriage and he also used to work as weaver. In 1627 Meletios Zaim had a son, Paul Zaim (sometime known as Paul of Aleppo), who became his secretary and biographer.
After the death of his wife in 1627, he retired to the Mar Saba monastery until 1634. On October 27, 1635, he was consecrated metropolitan bishop of Aleppo by Patriarch Euthymius III of Chios (taking the name of Meletios), who also appointed him catholicos (supervisor) of the whole patriarchate. As Metropolitan of Aleppo he led a bright and rich period for the Christians of Aleppo. In 1624 he led a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where he met the Catholicos of Georgia, whom he accompanied to Damascus. In 1647 he had to escape for a time from Aleppo because of persecution by the governor.
After the death of Patriarch Euthymios III, he went to Damascus where he was elected Patriarch and consecrated on November 12, 1647, by four metropolitans, under the name of Macarios III. His first aim was to restore the financial situation of the Patriarchate, which had deteriorated because of the excessive taxation of the Ottomans towards the Christians. In order to get financial help, he decided to start a long journey into the Eastern Europe countries. After having appointed and consecrated one vicar, on February 11, 1652, he took the road north, accompanied by his son Paul. He visited Constantinople, Wallachia (where he was well received by Prince Matei Basarab), Moldavia (where he met Prince Vasile Lupu), Ukraine and Tsardom of Russia.
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