Theophanes III

Theophanes III of Jerusalem was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1608 to 1644.

As the successor to Sophronius IV, Theophanes continued Sophronius' defense of Orthodox rights to the Christian shrines in the Holy Lands. In 1611, with a decree from the Ottoman sultan, Theophanes stopped the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem from taking over the celebration of the Holy Light.

Due to careless financial management by Serbian monks who lived at the Monastery of Saint Sabas, Theophanes sold religious heirlooms of value to avert surrendering the monastery and its metochion of the Archangel to the Latin and Armenian patriarchates.

In April 1619, Theophanes traveled to Moscow to participate in the enthronement of Metropolitan Philaret as Patriarch of Moscow on June 1, 1619. In August 1620, when he was returning from his visit to Moscow, Theophanes erected a new metropolis on the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth - the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia. He consecrated Job Boretsky as the first metropolitan and also other bishops, during a stop in Kiev. These consecrations restored the Orthodox hierarchy in the area that was occupied by Uniate bishops after the Union of Brest in 1596 when Metropolitan Michael Rohoza turned to support the union.

According to Raphael Hawaweeny,