Athanasius of Lubensk, also known as Athanasius III Patellarius, was a Cretan-born hierarch of the post-Byzantine era who served as Patriarch of Constantinople on more than one occasion before reposing in 1654 during a journey through the lands of present-day Ukraine. He is commemorated on May 2, the same day as Saint Athanasius the Great of Alexandria, with whom he should not be confused. He is widely remembered for the unusual manner of his burial: following Greek custom he was interred seated, in full hierarchical vestments, and his relics were later found incorrupt.
Born on the island of Crete into a Greek family named Patellarios, he received the baptismal name Alexis (Alexios). According to the tradition he entered monastic life after the death of his father, beginning as a novice at Thessalonica and continuing at the monastery of Esphigmenou on Mount Athos, where he served in the refectory. He was a man of broad learning, and the sources credit him with command of several languages and with missionary and translation work among the peoples of the lower Danube, for whom he is said to have translated the Psalter from Greek.
His tenure on the patriarchal throne of Constantinople fell within the turbulent middle decades of the seventeenth century, when patriarchs were frequently appointed and deposed. He was first raised to the patriarchate in 1634 but held the office only briefly, and he occupied the throne again for a short period in 1652 following the repose of Patriarch Cyril. Deprived of the see, he traveled in search of support for his monastery, settling for a time in Moldavia and then journeying to Moscow, where in 1653 he was received with honor by Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich.
Falling ill on the return journey, he stopped at the Transfiguration Mgarsk Monastery near the town of Lubny, where he reposed in 1654 and was buried in a seated posture. Some years after his death his relics were uncovered and found to be incorrupt. He was glorified as a saint in 1662, and his incorrupt relics, venerated for healings, came in time to rest at the Annunciation Cathedral in Kharkov.
