He became a monk in the Nitrian Desert, at the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great.
Against his will, he was consecrated Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria on 29 September 496, following the death of Athanasius II.
He was the first Alexandrine bishop to be chosen from among the monks from the desert monasteries rather than from the learned clergy of Alexandria.
During his time as patriarch, he is recorded as having secured gifts of wheat, wine, and oil for his former monastery from the Emperor.
By doing so, he largely kept the church in peace, although also continuing the schism of the Acephaloi, who opposed both the Council of Chalcedon and the conciliatory approach of the Henotikon.