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 |
|
Papacy began | 1 November 1874 |
Papacy ended | 7 August 1927 |
Predecessor | Demetrius II |
Successor | John XIX |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1851 |
Personal details | |
Born | John (Youhanna) c.1831 Tezment, Beni Suef Governorate, Egypt |
Died | 7 August 1927 95–96) Egypt | (aged
Buried | Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Azbakeya) |
Nationality | Egyptian |
Denomination | Coptic Orthodox Christian |
Residence | Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Azbakeya) |
Sainthood | |
Feast day | 7 August (1 Mesori in the Coptic Calendar) |
Papal styles of Saint Cyril V | |
---|---|
Reference style | His Holiness |
Spoken style | Your Holiness |
Religious style | Pope and Patriarch |
Posthumous style | Saint |
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
- History of the Coptic Church. Iris Habib Elmasry
- Al-Ahram Weekly article Archived 12 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Richard Pankhurst, The Ethiopians: A History (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), p. 169
- 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