The appointment occurred under the rule of Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim.
Mufarrij suggested that the Christian community should re-build the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
However, shortly after making the suggestion, al-Hakim, who, earlier, had ordered the previous church destroyed,[2] declared war on Mufarrij, and sent his troops to Syria and Palestine.
Mufarrij soon died and his son and Patriarch Theophilus fled into hiding.
In 1013, after a new amicable governor was seated, Patriarch Theophilus returned and stayed in Jerusalem until his repose in 1020.