Pope Demetrius I of Alexandria

Saint Demetrius of Alexandria
Pope Demetrius of Alexandria
12th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
Born	2nd Century
Died	9 October c. 224-232
Venerated in	Coptic Orthodox Church Coptic Catholic Church Roman Catholic Church
Feast	Coptic Church: 12 Ⲡⲁⲟⲡⲓ (Julian Calendar: 9 October) Catholic Church: 9 October

Saint Demetrius of Alexandria
12th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
Pope Demetrius
Papacy began	early 189
Papacy ended	9 October c. 224-232
Predecessor	Julian
Successor	Heraclas
Personal details
Born	Alexandria, Egypt
Died	9 October c. 224-232 Alexandria, Egypt
Buried	Baucalis, Alexandria
Denomination	Church of Alexandria
Residence	Saint Mark's Church

Demetrius I (died 22 October 232), 12th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. Sextus Julius Africanus, who visited Alexandria in the time of Demetrius, places his accession as eleventh bishop after Mark in the tenth year of Roman Emperor Commodus; Eusebius of Caesarea's statement that it was in the tenth of Septimius Severus is a mistake.

Demetrius was a farmer, and lived with his wife as brother and sister for 47 years until he was chosen a Patriarch. According to the Synaxarium, a historical collection of the Church’s saints, the ailing Pope Julian had a vision in which he was told that his successor would visit him the next day with a cluster of grapes, which were out of season at that time of year. The next day, a farmer named Demetrius found grapes and went to the Pope for his blessing, and shortly after became Pope Demetrius I, the twelfth bishop of Alexandria.

Pope Demetrius took interest in establishing a fixed basis for fasts and Christian holy days. He established the reckoning by which the dates of fasting were determined. A scholar in his own right, Demetrius took part in the controversy over the proper calculation of Easter. He was the first to devise the calculation for fixing the dates to celebrate Easter each year. His calculation was approved by the Nicean Ecumenical Council (325 AD). Today many of the Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use his calculation.

While Jerome claimed that Demetrius sent Pantaenus on a mission to India, it is likely that Clement had succeeded Pantaenus as the head of the Catechetical School before the accession of Demetrius. When Clement retired (c. 203), Demetrius appointed Origen, who was in his eighteenth year, as Clement's successor.