Early bishops of Jerusalem
Early bishops of Jerusalem
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Early bishops of Jerusalem

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Early bishops of Jerusalem

This is a list of the bishops of Jerusalem before the Council of Chalcedon (451), which provoked a schism.

The early Christian community of Jerusalem was led by a Council of Elders, and considered itself part of the wider Jewish community.[citation needed] This collegiate system of government in Jerusalem is seen in Acts 11:30 and 15:22.

Eusebius provides the names of an unbroken succession of thirty-six Bishops of Jerusalem up to the year 324. The first fifteen of these bishops were of Jewish origin (from James the Just through Judas). Eusebius wrote that the bishops were Hebrew until Hadrian suppressed the Bar Kokhba revolt. After this the bishops were gentiles.

As a result of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135, Hadrian was determined to erase Judaism[citation needed] from Iudaea Province. The province was renamed Syria Palaestina. Jerusalem was left in total ruin, and a new city built nearby called Aelia Capitolina. These Gentile bishops (Jews were excluded from the city except for the day of Tisha B'Av), were appointed under the authority of the Metropolitans of Caesarea. Until the setting up of the Patriarchates in 325, Metropolitan was the highest episcopal rank in the Christian church.

Jerusalem received special recognition in Canon VII of the First Council of Nicaea in 325, without yet becoming a metropolitan see. Also, the council for the first time established the Patriarchates. The Bishops of Jerusalem were appointed by the Patriarchs of Antioch.

In 451 or 452, the anti-Chalcedonian clergy elected a rival bishop, Theodosius, who was forced into exile in 453. For the rival episcopal successions after this date:

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