Part I. The story: 2. The Chair of Alexandria

The Chair of Alexandria

The Seed sowed by St. Mark took root and grew into a great tree (Mark 4 : 31, 32 and Luke 13 : 19). During the Apostle’s lifetime, a church was built; at his martyrdom, it was given his name. The present-day cathedral of St. Mark in Alexandria stands on the very same site whereon this first church built on Egyptian soil stood. Anianus, having been ordained by the evangelist-martyr resumed the guidance of the believers. From then onwards, the line of his successors continues unbroken. At present, his Successor is Abba Shenouda III, the hundred and seventeenth Pope of Alexandria.

The title “Pope” was used to designate St. Mark’s successors from the time of Anianus. In its Coptic from, it is “Papa” or “father of fathers”. Some of the most illustrious Fathers of the Church Universal are among the Popes of Alexandria. A few examples will be cited here :

ABBA DEMETRIUS : (12th Pope, 199-232 A.D.), entitled “the Vinedresser” who computed the Epact by which the dated of Easter was calculated, and can be fixed unto eternity. It was used by the Church Universal until 1582 A.D.

ABBA DIONYSIUS : (14th Pope, 249-270 A.D.), entitled “A man of universal learning”, and an oecumenical teacher. His arbitration was sought by two candidates for the Chair of Rome, and his response aimed at keeping the peace and unity of the Church.

ABBA PETROS I : (17th Pope, 293-303 A.D.), martyred by emperor Diocletian because of his daring to withstand him for the sake of maintaining the integrity of the Faith and sustaining the hearts of the believers. The laws he set down for accepting repentant renegades are marked by Christian charity and paternal solicitude. They are revered by the Church Universal.

ABBA ATHANASIUS THE APOSTOLIC : (20th Pope, 326-372 A.D.), known for his intrepidity in defending Orthodoxy against all deviations to the extent of earning the epithet “Athanasius versus the world”.

ABBA KYRILLOS I : (24th Pope, 412-443 A.D.), entitled “the Pillar of Faith” and “St. Mark’s Cub”, for elucidating the Orthodox Doctrine and withstanding Nestorianism.

ABBA DIOSCORUS I : (25th Pope, 443-458 A.D.), whose intrepidity in the council of Chalcedon caused emperor Marcianus to banish him. He died in exile rather than forego one iota of the spiritual legacy entrusted to him.

ABBA THEODOSIUS : (35th Pope, 519-536 A.D.), whom both emperors Justinian I and II tried to bribe into submission by promising to make him ruler over all their African domain. He refused and was, consequently, imprisoned in Constantinople for twenty eight years, till he died.

ABBA BENJAMEN I : (38th Pope, 625-664 A.D.), he succeeded in shepherding his people during the fall of Constantinople and the Arab conquest. After the entry of the Arabs, he rebuilt the destroyed churches, and collected the Church laws which he wrote and promulgated among the believers for their edification.

ABBA MIKHAIL I : (46th Pope, 743-766 A.D.), who maintained the Orthodox Doctrine and practises, accepting imprisonment, scourging, threat of death, and payment of exhorbitant sums of money rather than bow before the temporal powers.

ABBA SHENOUDA I : (55th Pope, 858-869 A.D.), who despite severe persecutions, dug canals under the streets of Alexandria through which fresh waters could be available to the sorely stricken people.

ABBA MIKHAIL IV : (68th Pope, 1092-1102 A.D.), who mediated between the Sultan of Egypt and the king of Ethiopia, thus evading war and leading to amical relations between the two.

ABBA KYRILLOS III : (75th Pope, 1226-1234 A.D.), whose letters and books of catechism and concerning the doctrine show him as a vigilant Shepherd mindful of his people in Damascus, Nubia and Ethiopia. He is the first Successor to St. Mark who ordained a Coptic Archbishop over Jerusalem for shepherding the Copts throughout the Middle Eastern countries.

ABBA MATTHEOS THE GREAT : (87th Pope, 1378-1409 A.D.), in whom shown all the Apostolic gifts: he healed the sick, he cast out the devils and he raised the dead (Matt. 10-8). He was also given the gift of prophecy and wielded great influence on the Mamluke Sultan Barkook. One of the most touching stories about this man of God shows his influence over the wild beasts. While yet living in the desert, he was walking one day from a cell to another. A mother hyena came and walked beside him and carried for him his bundle of clothes. He felt that she must be in some need and left her to walk at her will. They came to a deep chasm, and she stood still lifting up her eyes to him as if imploring him. He descended into the chasm and found her cub fallen at the bottom. Putting it on his shoulder, he climbed up and delivered it to her. In gratitude, she licked his feet and went away. Next day, he heard a scratching on his door; opening it, he found yesterday’s hyena with another mother hyena bringing her blind cub. He knelt on the sand beside them, put his right hand on the eyes of the cub and prayed. The eyes opened. The two brutes lay at his feet licking them. Père Chéneau d’Orléans commenting on the power of the saints on the beasts of the wild says that God granted them that power which He had bestowed on Adam before his fall.

Contemporary with this man of wondrous spiritual gifts is a man who is himself a miracle : he is

ABBA ROWEISS : He was a poor illiterate peasant who had to toil for a living from his tender years, and had to flee from his village before drastic tortures at the age of twenty. Yet, such was his love for the Christ and for his sorely afflicted co-religionists that he journeyed from town to town, and from village to village in order to enthuse the faint hearted with courage, and inflame the spirits with ardour. For a few years, he lived this errant life, then settled on what has since then became known as the Abba Roweiss ground. Many youths came to him for council and guidance, and became his disciples. And such is God’s assessment of human worth that He bestowed upon this man — shorn of all worldly advantages — rare spiritual gifts. He endowed him with the ability of seeing the invisible, of foretelling the future, of ransoming erring youths, and of journeying in the spirit. One example of ransom is that of a handsome young from a well-to-do family who was seduced by the Sultan to deny the Christ and marry a royal princess. Two years later, he came to Abba Roweiss saying : “O man of God, what can I do, for the devil has vanquished me ?” Hearing his whole story, the saint advised him to go and live in St. Anthony’s monastery adding : “The devil vanquished you in the first round and you will vanquish him in the second.” The erring remonstrated : “Suppose the Sultan knows where I am and tortures the monks because of me...” Abba Roweiss replied : “You go, and I shall ask God to make the Sultan forget you.” The youth obeyed, and the Sultan did forget him.

As for his ability to journey in the spirit, it is demonstrated by the following incident : A Copt was the treasurer of the Mamluke Prince Mintach who took him with him to Syria. They remained there longer than was anticipated. The Copt’s wife, alarmed at his delay, went to Abba Roweiss. Then, it seemed to her that he went into a trance, and came to himself half an hour later saying : “Your husband was in danger but is now safe, and arrive tomorrow”. The woman took his word implicitly and went home comforted. The following day her husband came. He told her that when they were half way on their journey back, the Prince outran them, leaving him with the soldiers who wanted to snatch from him the box wherein the Prince’s money was kept. At his opposition, they threatened to kill him. Suddenly a man appeared and saved him, accompanying them till they reached the outpost of Cairo then leaving them as suddenly as he appeared.

In acknowledgement of his services and his spiritual worth, the Church entitled him “Abba” — a term used only to designate popes and bishops.

ABBA YOANNIS XIII : (94th Pope, 1483-1526 A.D.), whose awareness of his great duties necessitated that he write letters of edification to his flock in Cyprus, and that he donate church-books to the bishop whom he consecrated over this island for their service. It should be noted that when the Turks conquered this island, they massacred all the Copts there including the bishop. A monastery, still stands on the slopes near Nicosia where Armenian monks now live, retaining its original name — that of St. Macari the Great.

ABBA YOANNIS XVI : (103rd Pope, 1676-1718 A.D.), whose papacy can best be described in the words of the psalmist, “thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps. 103 : 5). For despite famines, plagues and persecutions, he succeeded in rebuilding the monasteries of the Eastern desert, as well as in repairing and reconstructing numerous churches. His sympathy was such that he decreed that the priests are to take the Communion to the sick who are unable to go to church.

ABBA KYRILLOS IV : (110th Pope, 1854-1861 A.D.), known among the Copts as “Father of Renaissance” because he opened several schools (in the modern sense of the word), one of which was for girls; he revived the Coptic language, organized the work of the deacons, and bought a printing press — the second in Egypt, the first being that bought by Mohammad Ali Pasha. He aspired towards a unity of the Orthodox churches but did not live to achieve it. Abba Kyrillos was expressly asked by the Khedive Saïd Pasha to mediate between him and the Ethiopian emperor. His mediation led to the establishment of peace between the two countries.

ABBA KYRILLOS V : (112th Pope, 1874-1927 A.D.), under whose direction, the Sunday Schools spread from Alexandria to Aswan, and into the Sudan. He opened the present Theological Seminary and a technical school in Boulak (one of the poorest suburbs of Cairo). His pastoral tour comprised the Sudan, during which he consecrated several churches. Having been a scribe while a monk, he encouraged contemporary authors, and during his papacy countless books were published. Being ardent patriot, he supported Arabi and Zaghlool in their revolutions for national independence.

ABBA KYRILLOS VI : (116th Pope, 1959-1971 A.D.), who was graced by God with the power of healing and of casting out evil spirits, as well as by clairvoyance and clairaudience. He began rebuilding St. Mena’s monastery in Mariut but did not see its completion. However, his people respected his will, and bore his body to the sacred spot after its completion where he was buried under the sanctuary of the big cathedral there. What is more, he brought his negotiations with Paul VI to a successful end, and was consequently vouchsafed the joy of receiving St. Mark’s relics, consecrating a grand cathedral in his name, and a reliquary under its sanctuary wherein the Evangelist’s relics were placed. God’s Grace abounded in that the Blessed Virgin appeared over the church named after her in Zeitoun (Cairo); beginning on Monday 2nd. of April 1968 and continuing for little over two years; hundreds of thousands — literally — felt the ecstasy of seeing Her. Muslims and Copts, Europeans, Americans and Africans crowded the streets round the Church nightly, from sunset to sunrise. Among the thousands thus blessed was President Nasser, who was the personal friend of Abba Kyrillos VI. And it is worth-noting that St. Mark’s Cathedral wherein the Prayers for commemorating the martyrdom of St. Mark were held was not built by the Copts alone : the Egyptian Government as well as churches from the four corners of the earth contributed their share.