He was a respected and very experienced man. He was elected Patriarch of Alexandria by the Ecumenical Patriarchate despite the objections of the Hellenic Community of Alexandria, he proposed Archimandrite Ierotheos for the Patriarchal Throne. The period following his election was one of internal upheaval in the Church of Alexandria , because neither clergy nor people accepted Artemios as Patriarch, which led him to resign on 30th January 1847.
