Pope Cyril V of Alexandria

Pope Cyril V of Alexandria (Abba Kyrillos V), 112th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark for 52 years, 9 months and 6 days. He was the longest-serving Pope in the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church.[1] He was born as Youhanna (John) in 1824 or 1830/1831 according to different accounts and he died on 7 August 1927.

Saint

Cyril V of Alexandria
Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
Native name
  • البابا كيرلس الخامس
Papacy began1 November 1874
Papacy ended7 August 1927
PredecessorDemetrius II
SuccessorJohn XIX
Orders
Ordination1851
Personal details
Born
John (Youhanna)

c.1831
Died7 August 1927(1927-08-07) (aged 95–96)
Egypt
BuriedSaint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Azbakeya)
NationalityEgyptian
DenominationCoptic Orthodox Christian
ResidenceSaint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Azbakeya)
Sainthood
Feast day7 August (1 Mesori in the Coptic Calendar)
Papal styles of
Saint Cyril V
Reference styleHis Holiness
Spoken styleYour Holiness
Religious stylePope and Patriarch
Posthumous styleSaint

A monk

He joined the Al Baramous Monastery in the Nitrian Desert, where he served as abbot prior to his elevation to Pope.

The Coptic Pope

The General Congregation Council (Elmagles Elmelly Ela'am) elected him Pope, with seat in the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Azbakeya in Cairo throughout his papacy. The secretary of the council was Boutros pasha Ghali بطرس غالي, later Prime Minister of Egypt. Cyril spent most of his papacy at loggerheads with the council and objecting to its interference in church matters.[2] At the beginning of his papacy there was a dispute with the council, which Cyril won.

In general, his papacy was an era of regeneration for the Coptic Orthodox Church and he continued the work begun by Pope Cyril IV (1854–1861) in educational reform.[2]

Notable men of the Coptic Church during his papacy included saint Anba Abraam, Bishop of Fayoum, and Habib Girgis.

In 1881 the Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV asked Pope Cyril V to ordain a metropolitan and three Bishops for the Ethiopian Empire. Cyril chose the four monks who had left El-Muharraq Monastery with Anba Abraam: Abouna Petros, Abouna Marqos, Abouna Matewos and Abouna Luqas.[3]

When news of his death reached Ethiopia, Empress Zewditu and Ras Tafari ordered requiem masses to be said throughout Ethiopia, and that government offices be closed for three days.[4]

See also

References

  1. History of the Coptic Church. Iris Habib Elmasry
  2. Al-Ahram Weekly article Archived 12 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Richard Pankhurst, The Ethiopians: A History (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), p. 169
  4. Aleqa Gebre-Igziabiher Elyas, Prowess, Piety, and Politics: The Chronicle of Abeto Iyasu and Empress Zewditu of Ethiopia (1909–1930), translated by Reidulf K. Molvaer (Köln: Rüdiger Köppe, 1994), pp. 503f

Sources

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