In the previous article, we spoke of Pope Quzman II, the fifty-fourth patriarch who endured a lot of persecution and harsh laws against Christians, including dismissing them from government jobs, which led to the poverty of many families. This saddened the Pope’s heart. Nevertheless, he never stopped praying for the congregation. Nor did he cease to educate them. Then, we started speaking about Pope Shenouda I, the fifty-fifth patriarch.
Pope Shenouda I (859-880 A.D.)
This father underwent lots of internal tribulations in which he defended and taught the correct Orthodox creed. In fact, he refuted heresies in writing, and struggled to restore heretics and their followers to the correct path. In like manner all patriarchs do, Pope Shenouda I wrote a statement of belief to the Syrian patriarch of Antioch. This statement expressed the oneness of the Orthodox faith. He sent it with two clergymen, a bishop and a priest, and they returned with a message reaffirming the oneness of faith.
Pope Shenouda I cared about spiritual books which teach the congregation the Church’s rituals. Likewise, he gave attention to preaching and explaining heresies, as well as the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon that oppose the Orthodox teachings. It came to pass that the bishops of Sammanud and Minyat Tanah had deviated from the correct faith. Though the Pope tried to restore them in a meeting at Abu Maqar’s Monastery, they refused. Thus, their lives came to a terrible end.
In a pastoral visit to Upper Egypt, the Pope found an elderly man who renounced the teachings of Pope Kirollos I (aka. the Pillar of Faith), and had many followers. He catechized and restored him to the correct faith. Also, during the tenure of Pope Shenouda I, some people claimed that Easter should not be celebrated on Paramhat 29, and the Pope proved them wrong. It also came to pass that a man wanted to bribe the Pope to be ordained bishop, which the Pope did not accept. So, he decided to revile him at the proconsul’s, accusing him of borrowing money from him. Moreover, he brought a monk from al-Syrian Monastery, had him dressed up as Pope, and made him admit before some people that he borrowed money from him that they might be his witnesses before the proconsul. Yet, this evil scheme was exposed to the Pope who hurried to win him over with lovingkindness, having forgiven him. So, the man admitted his sin, and the Pope prohibited him from lying and evil doing in the future, reminding him of doomsday and man’s reward according to his deeds.
Pope Shenouda’s I pain was not bound to these incidents. In fact, a Christian elder, Yacoub, started waging war against him. He sent the proconsul a message with a Jewish friend of his, telling him that the Pope is a rich man who can pay one hundred thousand dinars annually. When the Pope got to know, he started praying for Yacoub and asked Copt sages to advise to avoid lying. Yet, he would not. Thus, he and his friend had a terrible end. The Pope grieved that he died in his evil, and beseeched God to have mercy on him.
Another tribulation is that a deacon reviled the Pope at the proconsul’s, which made the latter imprison him and prohibit visits, allowing him only a little food which the Pope shared with other prisoners. The Pope remained in jail for forty days in which he did not stop praying that God might show mercy unto that deacon until he came begging for forgiveness, having been rebuked by Christian and Muslim children for his deed. The Pope accepted his repentance, saying, “A sick person needs a remedy, not a punishment,” taking Christ for his role model.
It also came to pass that an evil monk went to the proconsul and accused the Pope of converting Muslim youth and ordaining them monks. So, the proconsul sent his sentries to the Pope to verify the claim. So, they went to the monastery and brought a monk, claiming he was non-Christian, which he did not accept. So, they beat him, after which they went to Pope Shenouda I’s residence and arrested him and his associates, and confiscated his books and property, despite his being bed-ridden. They threw them in a jail in the capital. Though seriously ill, the Pope kept praying and encouraging whoever was with him. Also, the Pope healed the deacon who was beaten, only for everybody to marvel. Then some Copt aristocrats intervened, offering the proconsul money. So, he acquitted the Pope and his associates. On the other hand, the evil monk fled to a Monastery Marriott in fear of the Copts and proconsul. He used to bother monks a lot until Muslim merchants told the proconsul about his deeds. So, he was arrested, flogged, and imprisoned for a year, after which he became a leper.
External Tribulations
Pope Shenouda I was exceedingly bothered by Ahmed bin Mohammed bin al-Mudabber, Egypt’s Chief Tax-collector. Historians maintain that Bin al-Mudabber was a man of letters who used to recite poems. Al-Mutawakil had assigned him many jobs, including tax-collection. So, he invented a totally new tax. Thus, he was able to accumulate a lot of money in the royal treasury. Bin al-Mudabber had been in charge of the Tax Authority of Palestine and the Levant, then, al-Muntasir assigned him that of Egypt. According to bin al-Muqaffa’, “He was a cruel, invincible man who everybody feared.” It is said that he taxed his father more than other people!
When bin al-Mudabber was assigned the affairs of Egypt’s tax-collection, he doubled the amount of taxes on the entirety of the population, be they Muslims, Christians or Jews. He did not exempt the poor, thus filling prisons with whoever could not afford paying taxes. Likewise, he imposed unprecedented taxes on pastures, hunting, legumes, palm trees, vineyards, fruits, and industries. He also counted the monks in the entirety of Egypt and imposed taxes on their pastures, palm trees, and trees. These were called, “Blue Moon Taxes”, as they were collected at the beginning of each lunar month, in addition to the other taxes that were collected according to the solar year. What a strange story! Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
