Patriarch Meletios Euthymius III of Chios (died 1647), sometimes known also as Euthymius IV, was Melkite

Melkite

The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Byzantine Rite Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. The word comes from the Syriac word malkāyā , and the Arabic word Malakī...

 Greek Patriarch of Antioch

Patriarch of Antioch

Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the Bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in the church from its earliest period...

 from 1635 to 1647.

Life

Meletios was born from a family originally from Chios

Chios

Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...

 and he entered in the Mar Saba monastery of which he became hieromonk

Hieromonk

Hieromonk , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholicism....

. He was known as painter of icon

Icon

An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...

s and thus he was called to Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

 to paint the Melkite cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

.
His name as Patriarch was suggested by the dying Patriarch Euthymius II Karmah

Euthymius II Karmah

Patriarch Abdel-Karim Meletios Euthymius II Karmah was Melkite Patriarch of Antioch from 1634 to 1635. He previously was a leading figure in the Melkite Church and metropolitan bishop of Aleppo...

, and shortly after Karmah’s death (January 1, 1635) Meletios was accordingly elected. His episcopal

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 and patriarchal consecration was performed by Philotheos of Homs

Homs

Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...

, Simeon of Saidnaya

Saidnaya

Saidnaya is a city located in the mountains, 1500 metres above sea level, north of the city of Damascus in Syria and was one of the episcopal cities of the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch...

 and Joachim of Zabadani

Zabadani

Zabadani is a city in southwestern Syria in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, close to the border with Lebanon. It is located in the center of a green valley surrounded by high mountains at an elevation of around 1,100 m....

 and he took the name of Euthymius III.

He is remembered as "timid" Patriarch, and he had not the courage of his predecessor. His relationships with the Latin missionaries

Catholic missions

As the church normally organizes itself along territorial lines, and because they had the human and material resources, religious orders—some even specializing in it—undertook most missionary work, especially in the early phases...

 in Syria were very good even if he never wrote directly to the pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

. He died of illness in Damascus on October 11, 1647.