My felicitations to all the Egyptians for celebrating the memory of “The Entrance of the Holy Family to Egypt” yesterday. It is well known that Egypt is the only country blessed with the visit of the Holy Family, since it embraced Lord Christ and His mother Saint Virgin Mary; they moved around its territories, in its cities and villages with Saint Joseph the Carpenter. The Holy Flight to Egypt is a unique historical event illuminating and embellishing the pages of human history, distinguishing the land of Egypt from the other world countries, bestowing on it that immortal blessing: “Blessed is Egypt My people”. May your years be filled with goodness and peace, we plead for God to maintain blessings for our country, keep it from evil and protect the world from the pandemic.
Last article began tackling Pope Christodoulos, the 66th Patriarch of Alexandria, who was consecrated a patriarch unwillingly. His works included moving the papal residency from Alexandria to Cairo, establishing and restoring many of Egypt’s churches and putting several ritual laws.
Internal Troubles
This father patriarch suffered tremendous internal troubles, as the incident of the arrival of some bishops to Cairo; the Bishops of Sakha, Katour, Tamwiya, Al-Khandaq, Baliana and Tinnis, they all were accompanied by a number of Alexandria father priests, to come all agreed to overthrow the patriarch! They alleged that at his consecration, the prayers usually read at the patriarchs’ consecration were not read then! As for the real reason behind their action, it was a dispute aroused between Bishop Youhanna of Sakha and the pope patriarch. However, the dispute was settled later through the pope’s wisdom and with the interference of an archon called Abi Zakaria Yehia Ibn Makarah, the Queen’s Minister, who managed to sedate and settle the affairs between the pope and the Bishop of Sakha. He also suffered because of the desire of a monk called Folotus to become a bishop, he kept asking Pope Christodoulos to ordain him yet he refused; the monk sent several complaints to the caliph, who arrested the pope patriarch and confiscated all the money he had!
External Troubles
Pope Christodoulos suffered external hardships as well, the first of which was a complaint raised against him to Minister Al-Yazouri, claiming that he used his authority and relations with the Nubian King, aiming to break the commercial relationships with the country and ceasing to send the Jizyah (taxes); Minister Al-Yazouri in response commanded the pope’s arrest and fined him a hundred dinars, sending his decree with a Turkish servant to Minister Adud al-Dawla, the one in charge of war affairs. The servant arrested the father patriarch and took him to Adud al-Dawla, who honored the patriarch and received him in his own house, then, with the assistance of Abu Al-Bishr the physician, interfered and proved the charges against the pope false, highlighting that the relationship of Alexandria’s Church and Nubia’s Church is a mere religious relationship and has nothing to do with the political side. Al-Yazouri ordered the release of Pope Christodoulos.
The wars instigated against the pope were not ceased; one of the judges, Abu Al-Hussein Abdel Wahab Ibn Ali Al-Sirafi, resisted him, he was ousted from an order he assumed then he became a judge at Alexandria, yet he hated Christians. Once he went to Dimrou where Pope Christodoulos stayed then, but the pope gave him nothing, so he complained against the pope to Minister Al-Yazouri, charging him with several charges, adding that the patriarch established many churches and restored others, established for himself a residence on which was written a Christian slogan, he also charged him with assaulting religions; afterwards, this judge suggested to Al-Yazouri to shut down the churches and demolish the new ones. Al-Yazouri responded to the judge’s suggestions, asking him to support his complaint with witnesses. The judge brought a group of witnesses, went down to Dimrou to find the slogan on the residence’s door, he blotted it out using his sword, the father patriarch told him: “You have blotted it out from the door, but can you blot it out from my heart?!” Al-Yazouri then ordered the closing down of all the churches of Egypt, demanded the pope, bishops and Christians to pay 70 thousand dinars, marking the days with distress and neediness. Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah got displeased with Minister Al-Yazouri, ordered his arrest and exile to Tinnis, then his murder. In these days, some governors loved the Christians and were merciful to them, like the governor of Egypt Sanan Al-Dawla Ibn Kabir, and the governor of Alexandria Prince Al-Mu’ayyad Hisn Al-Dawla Abu Tirab Haydarah Ibn Mirowah Al-Kattami. Pope Christodoulos was contemporary to the Mustansari Plight and… Stories in beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
