During his reign, the Archdiocese of Jerusalem also possessed jurisdiction over the easternmost provinces of Egypt in Al-Sharqyia, Port Said, Ismailia, and Suez.
He joined the Monastery of Saint Anthony the Great in the Eastern Desert, and was tonsured a monk with the name, Monk James Saint Anthony (Arabic: أبونا الراهب يعقوب الأنطونى).
Later he was ordained a priest, and then elevated to the rank of Hegumen, and sent to assist in the service of the See of Jerusalem.
[1][2] Following the death of Metropolitan Timothy of Jerusalem, in 1925, Hegumen James Saint Anthony was nominated for the See.
He was buried in the tomb of Metropolitan Basil II of Jerusalem, in the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Joppa.