He was baptized by Mark the Evangelist. He was one of the three who were ordained priests by Mark, along with Bishop Anianus, the Second Patriarch.
Primus was ascetic, pious, and filled with good deeds. He was appointed patriarch on the 22nd day of Paoni (June 16, 106 A.D.). During his reign, the church was in peace and tranquility. He is commemorated in the Coptic Synaxarion on the 3rd day of Mesra, in the fifth year of the reign of Hadrian.