Beautiful Egypt 221 – The Forgiven – September 17, 2017

   In the previous article, we resumed speaking of Pope Shenouda I, the fifty-fifth patriarch, and his internal sufferings and false accusations that led to his imprisonment more than once. Likewise, he witnessed external plights, especially from Egypt’s chief tax-collector, Ahmed bin al-Mudabber, who imposed double the taxes on Egyptians, until prisons became full of those who could not afford paying. The people became destitute and miserable.

   Pope Shenouda I was saddened to know what Bin al-Mudabber had done to the people. He wept bitterly for the plights that alighted on Egypt and the Church. Bin al-Mudabber requested the Pope’s audience to make him the guarantor of tax payment. When the Pope got to know, he left his place and thought, “He might forget if he doesn’t find me.” He disguised himself and went to a monastery with his deacon-apprentice who used to record everything. Yet, bin al-Mudabber found that he could not collect taxes without the patriarch’s presence. When he failed to know his place, he sent his envoys to all the churches, having ordered them to take the money they found and treasures to sell, after which he looted priests, arrested some of them and threw them in jail. Then, he ordered closing churches down, except one, and imposed taxes on monks.

   Bin al-Muqaffa’ asserts that the Pope remained in his hiding place for about six months. Then, hearing of the tribulations his children were going through, he decided to give himself up to the proconsul. Pope Shenouda I started moving from one place to another until he reached the capital, al-Fustat, then he settled down in a Copt’s house where he wrote a message to Bin al-Mudabber, asking him for assurance. The latter answered, saying, “If you arrive at my place before a sentry arrests you, then you’re released and forgiven. If you are arrested, I will do unto you even more than what I intend to!”

   So, Pope Shenouda I hurried to Bin al-Muddaber’s palace in his ragged clothes. So, he and his scrib met him on the following day. Bin al-Mudabber spoke gently, and informed him he would not be hurt, as he had come over willfully. Yet, he imprisoned him! Three days later, he asked him to pay seven thousand dinars. So, bishops and priests strove to collect this sum from the congregation, but were able to collect four thousand. They gave them to the Pope who, in turn, gave them to the proconsul. Thus, he was set free, having pledged to pay the same amount annually.

   After al-Muntasir’s death, wars broke out between al-Mu’taz, al-Mu’ayyed, and al-Musta’in. These wars continued for three years. Egypt was severed from Baghdad and became so tumultuous that the tribes that arrived in Egypt attacked Egyptians and looted monasteries like St. Shenouda’s Monastery, Suhag, Archangel Gabriel’s Monastery, Qalamun, Fayyum, and St. Pacchom’s Monastery, Tema. They killed monks, raped and murdered nuns.

   It is said that when Pope Shenouda I went to St. Makarius’ Monastery, he was deeply grieved for what was happening. While he was there, Barbarians raided the monastery. So, he went out, unarmed, and told them to kill him. So, finding him brave and respectable, they retreated and left! Then, the Pope decided to build fortresses in monasteries to protect monks from such attacks. It is said that he participated in building that fortress, as he used to collect and arrange stones by himself.

   Pope Shenouda I endured tribulations patiently until God allowed some rest when the conflicts came to an end and al-Mu’taz became Caliph. Late Hegumen Manasseh Youhanna asserts that during al-Mu’taz bellah’s caliphate, the Pope dispatched two Copt aristocrats to him, namely, Severus and Ibrahim, “ … to acquaint him with the hardships Egypt had gone through due to the injustice of her rulers. They also asked him to show mercy and justice on the country. When they stood before the Caliph, he received them courteously, accepted their requests, and decreed that all lands, churches, monasteries, and altar vessels that were looted during the days of injustice be returned to the Copts. So, the two envoys returned to Pope Shenouda I with this decree, and he wrote several copies of it to have them sent to all the bishops of Egypt, asking them to thank God for this great gift and be grateful to the Caliph.” This was fulfilled in Egypt and the Levant, and churches were refurbished throughout the country.

   It came to pass that Muslim soldiers from Khorasan came to see the Pope. They sought him till they found him in Xois, Kafr al-Sheikh, and told him that they had come to return money which their father had unjustly taken from him and to ask the Pope for forgiveness. The Pope refused to take the money, but they were adamant. So, he wrote them saying, “The man for whose sake you came is absolved.” So, they returned to their country happily.

   Pope Shenouda I continued to take care of the congregation until he got sick and departed in 880 A.D. He had been patriarch for about twenty-one years. He had cared for his congregation a lot: having ordained bishops instead of those who departed, and during peace times, he dug a branch of the gulf made by al-Mutawakil in order to transfer fresh water to the population of Alexandria’s outskirts who used to drink salty water. Also, he established pipes to transfer water to Alexandria. These pipes helped irrigating the soil, thus, making it more fertile.

   During a pastoral visit to Ebris, he dug a fresh water well in Marriott after the people had complained to him from the remoteness of fresh water. God honored this father by making many wonders happen upon his prayers. Among these are: Rain had been short in Marriott for three years, which led to the dryness of wells and land. So, Pope Shenouda I beseeched God’s mercy. God accepted his prayers: for rain started as small showers, then became as heavy as torrents. So much so that lands, vineyards, and wells were filled with water. Pope Shenouda I suffered a lot from gout which made him, at many times, unable to pray or attend feasts. What a story! Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.

General Bishop

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center