The Patriarch of Alexandria (also known as the Bishop of Alexandria or Pope of Alexandria) is the highest-ranking bishop of Egypt. The Patriarchs trace back their lineage to Mark the Evangelist. Following the Council of Chalcedon in 451, a schism occurred in Egypt, between those who accepted and those who rejected the decisions of the council. The former are known as Chalcedonians and the latter are known as miaphysites. Over the next several decades, these two parties competed on the See of Alexandria and frequently still recognized the same Patriarch. But after 536, they permanently established separate patriarchates, and have maintained separate lineages of Patriarchs. The miaphysites became the Coptic Church (part of Oriental Orthodoxy) and the Chalcedonians became the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria (part of the wider Eastern Orthodox Church). Therefore, this list only contains those Patriarchs who served up until 536. For later Popes and Patriarchs, follow the links at the bottom of this page.

List of patriarchs (prior to 536)

After 536, the Chalcedonians and Miaphysites recognised different patriarchs. For the later succession of Miaphysite (Coptic) patriarchs and Greek (Chalcedonian) patriarchs, see: