Basil, who was a follower of his predecessor Patriarch
Thomas I of Jerusalem, was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem in 821. He actively opposed iconoclasm. In 836, he convened a council in Jerusalem that defended the veneration of
icons. From the council, Basil sent this position of the council to emperor Theophilus in a letter carried by
syncellus Michael. Theophilus, who was a confirmed iconoclast, jailed Michael upon his arrival. In 841, Basil was able to fend off an attack on Jerusalem by the Arab rebel
Abu Harb al-Mubarqa and his army of thirty thousand by buying him off. Basil died the following year, 842, and was succeeded by Sergius I who was made the
patriarch by the Arabs. ==Sources==