Last article tackled Pope Kyrillos III (1234/ 1235- 1242/ 1243), the 75th Patriarch of Alexandria, named Ibn Luqluq, who brought Simony back, causing resentment and discontent among people. He issued administrative churchly orders to make all monasteries and a number of cities under his direct subordination, imposing annual taxes on them!
During the era of that patriarch, the relationship between the Copts and the Syriacs was ruptured, all his decisions and actions that he insisted on led to a deterioration in his relationship with the Copts and the elders of the Coptic nation, so they withdrew from him, which increased his tyranny! As for the statesmen and officials, he tempted them with grants and money, while they were unaware of his religious offences, Priest Manasseh Youhanna states: “As the heads of government were not aware of the atrocities of Kyrillos, a delegation of the senior Coptic nation and its bishops, headed by Emad Al-Raheb (the monk who helped “Ibn Luqluq” obtain the patriarchate), informed the governor of the capital about his news- He was among those whom Kyrillos bribed, so he did not care about the matter, rather he protected and supported Kyrillos.” When Patriarch Kyrillos attended, he denounced the matter in astonishment, as the bishops’ complaint included five issues that they insisted on:
1. Quit simony and bribery.
2. Respecting the rights of the Syriac Patriarch, and not to encroach the authority of the Metropolitan appointed by Patriarch Kyrillos III to the city of Gaza.
3. Excommunication of those who were unworthily given priestly ranks.
4. The Patriarch shall not follow the heresies of the Greek Church.
5. Appointing one of the trained elder bishops as the agent of the Patriarchate.
As for the patriarch, he ignored these requests and broke promise to study them. Rather, he sought the governor, accusing Emad Al-Raheb of the worst things, until he succeeded in imprisoning him.
When things got worse, fourteen bishops went to the Patriarchate and compelled the patriarch to approve a legal draft necessary to arrange the laws of the church. Although he refused at first to accept it, he was forced to sign, and Ibn al-Assal Safa was charged with collecting those laws that were distributed to all dioceses. However, he returned and rejected what they agreed upon after the death of King Al-Kamel and during the reign of King Al-Saleh, taking advantage of the unrest that befell the Copts of Egypt at the time. These actions led the bishops to convene another council, attended by the senior men of the Coptic nation, in which they asked him to abide by the canons of the Church, yet he responded only with contempt and underestimation! One of the monks, called Botros, known as Al-Sheikh Al-Sunni, and he was a wise, virtuous, knowledgeable and beloved old man, “stood up and presented evidence of what he (the patriarch) had done, which violate his position and rank: such as his violation of established laws, his breaking of promises, his commission of bribery, and other such things. He presented a law to him to pass, to the effect of which he would appoint a bishop of good faith to oversee the endowment funds, and to ordain two bishops for two vacant dioceses, without bribery. Kyrillos had refrained from ordaining one for them until he received the usual tax, and to appoint overseers for Cairo and Babylon schools, and to leave the monasteries under the leadership of the bishops that are in the circle of their diocese.” However, the patriarch began to delay, until one of his companions informed him of the Prince of Cairo. The many complaints against the patriarch, especially the complaint of the monk Al-Sheikh Al-Sunni, impacted the patriarch’s status with rulers and statesmen. He was arrested after several attempts in which the bishops refused to hand him over for the sake of his dignified rank. After the rulers intended to depose the patriarch, the bishops intervened and agreed with the Prince of Cairo, who had great love for the Copts, to release the patriarch after he would sign the laws they enacted for him. He signed the laws and was released for a sum of money, so it was a pretext for him to keep collecting money.
The patriarch’s actions continued until the flock became fed up with him, until the heavens bestowed mercy and he died in 1242/1243 AD. And it is mentioned about that: “He continued in his misguidance until God relieved that unfortunate nation and he died, after assuming papacy for eight years full of suffering!” Anba Severus Ibn Al-Muqaffaa said: “They held a funeral for him, but it was said that his smell changed, so that they used to sprinkle rose water on him to cover the bad smell. He was buried in … the hall that he built in the Monastery of Shamaa” and … stories about beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
