Nicephorus I of Jerusalem was thepatriarch of theChurch of Jerusalem from 1020 to 1048.[1] He was appointed by theFatimid Caliph al-Hakim. After his appointment, Patriarch Nicephorus visited Al-Hakim at his capital in Egypt. He pleaded with him about the persecutions of the Christians in theHoly Land and asked Al-Hakim's protection for both himself and the Christians. The Caliph agreed to provide protection.
After the death of Al-Hakim in 1021, EmperorRomanus III Argyrus andAli az-Zahir, the son of Al-Hakim, made peace in 1030. In the meantime, Patriarch Nicephorus continued rebuilding theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, which had been destroyed on Al-Hakim's orders in 1009. In the re-building effort, Patriarch Nicephorus was helped byJoannichius, who would latersucceed him. However, in 1034, Jerusalem was hit by an earthquake that substantially damaged the city and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Re-construction was going slowly.
In 1042, upon ascending to the throne of Constantinople, EmperorConstantine IX Monomachos finally funded the reconstruction of the Church, as well as other Christian establishments in the Holy Land, under the treaty concluded earlier by Ali az-Zahir and Emperor Romanus III.[2]
Patriarch Nicephorus died in 1048.
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| Preceded by | Patriarch of Jerusalem 1020-1048 | Succeeded by |
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