John the Merciful

John the Merciful, second half of the 15th century, Warsaw National Museum

John the Merciful also known as John the Almsgiver, John the Almoner, John V of Alexandria, John Eleymon, and Johannes Eleemon, was the Chalcedonian Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century (from 606 to 616) and a Christian saint.

Quotes

• If in order to help the needy one is able, without ill-will, to strip the rich down to their shirts, one is not doing wrong, especially if they are heartless skinflints.
  • in Saints of the East (1963), p. 78