Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria

Papal styles of
**Pope Cyril VI**
Papal styles of; Pope Cyril VI
Reference style	His Holiness
Spoken style	Your Holiness
Religious style	Pope (disambiguation) and Patriarch
Posthumous style	Saint

Pope Saint

Cyril (Kyrillos) VI
Pope Saint; Cyril (Kyrillos) VI
116th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
Papacy began	10 May 1959 2 Pashons 1675
Papacy ended	9 March 1971 30 Meshir 1687
Predecessor	Joseph II
Successor	Shenouda III
Personal details
Born	Azer Youssef Atta; 8 August 1902 2 Mesori 1618; Damanhour, Egypt
Died	9 March 1971 30 Meshir 1687 (aged 67); Cairo, Egypt
Buried	Monastery of Saint Mina, Alexandria, Egypt
Nationality	Egyptian
Denomination	Coptic Orthodox Christian
Residence	1959-1968 Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Azbakeya) 1968-1971 Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Cairo
Sainthood
Feast day	9 March
Canonized	20 June 2013

This article uses dates and years written in the Coptic calendar, using the A.M. (Anno Martyrum) calendar era, in addition to the Gregorian calendar, using the A.D. (Anno Domini) calendar era.

Pope St. Cyril VI of Alexandria also called Abba Kyrillos VI, born Azer Youssef Atta (8 August 1902 – 9 March 1971; 2 Mesori 1618 –30 Meshir 1687), 116th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark from 10 May 1959 (2 Pashons 1675) to his death on 9 March 1971 (30 Meshir 1687).

Early life

Pope Cyril VI was born in Damanhour, Egypt, into a Coptic Orthodox family. He resigned a civil service position to become a monk in July 1927 (Paoni–Epip 1643). He passed his probationary period and, on 24 February 1928 (21 Meshir 1644), took his monastic vows at the Paromeos Monastery, assuming the name of Father Mina el-Baramosy (Father Mina of the Paromeos Monastery). He was also known as Father Mina the elder.

In 1947 (1663-1664), Father Mina built the Church of Saint Mina in Cairo. He also used to pray in the Church of the Holy Virgin in Babylon before assuming the papacy.^[1]

Coptic Pope

Father Mina became Pope of Alexandria on 10 May 1959 (2 Pashons 1675). In accordance with the old Coptic church tradition, Pope Cyril VI was the only monk in the 20th century A.D./17th century A.M. to be chosen for papacy without having been a bishop /Metropolitan first. Before him, there were three bishops / Metropolitans who became Popes of Alexandria: Pope John XIX (1928–1942), Pope Macarius III (1942–1944) and Pope Joseph II (1946-1956). After him, Pope Shenouda III was also a bishop before becoming Pope.^[2]

Pope Cyril VI elevated the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to the title of Patriarch-Catholicos. Abuna Basilios, who was the first Ethiopian to be appointed Archbishop of Ethiopia by Pope Joseph II, became Ethiopia's first Patriarch. Pope Cyril VI was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Star of Solomon by Emperor Haile Selassie in gratitude. In November 1959 he laid the foundation stone of the new Monastery of Saint Mina in the Desert of Mariout.

File:Ethiopian court.jpg

Pope Cyril VI of Alexanderia in the Ethiopian court

In January 1965 (Koiak–Tobi 1681), Pope Cyril VI presided over the Committee of Oriental Orthodox Churches in Addis Ababa, the first ecumenical and non-Chalcedonian synod of these churches held in modern times.

In June 1968 (Pashons–Paoni 1684), Pope Cyril received the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist and Apostle, which had been taken from Alexandria to Venice over eleven centuries earlier. The relics were interred beneath the newly completed Cathedral of Saint Mark in Cairo, which was built under Pope Cyril and was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by President Nasser, Emperor Haile Selassie, and delegates from most other churches.

Cyril's papacy also saw marked the Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Zeitoun, Egypt (starting on 2 April 1968/24 Paremhat 1684).^[3]^[4]

The Seat of Pope Cyril VI was initially located in Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Azbakeya, Cairo. However, during his papacy he built the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasseya, also in Cairo, which then became the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope.

Pope Cyril died on 9 March 1971 (30 Meshir 1687), after a short illness. Pope Shenouda III spoke about his predecessor: "There is no man in all the history of the church like Pope Cyril VI, who was able to pray so many liturgies. He prayed more than 12,000 liturgies. This matter never happened before in the history of the Popes of Alexandria or the world, or even among the monks. He was wondrous in his prayers."^{[citation needed]} On 20 June 2013 (13 Paoni 1729), 42 years after his death, he was canonised as a saint by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church.^[5]

Notes

^ St Mary Mons
^ History of the Coptic Church, Iris Habib Elmasry Volume five.
^ http://www.vice.com/read/divine-intervention-0000603-v22n3
^ http://www.zeitun-eg.org/zeitoun1.htm
^ Dunn, Michael. "Coptic Church's Synod Recognizes Two Modern Saints by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark the evanglist 118th ". Middle East Journal, Editors Blog. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

References

External links

Media related to Coptic Popes of Alexandria at Wikimedia Commons

Oriental Orthodox titles
Preceded by Joseph II	Coptic Pope 1959–1971	Succeeded by Shenouda III

[1] St Mary Mons

[2] History of the Coptic Church, Iris Habib Elmasry Volume five.

[3] ttp://www.vice.com/read/divine-intervention-0000603-v22n3

[4] ttp://www.zeitun-eg.org/zeitoun1.htm

[5] Dunn, Michael. "Coptic Church's Synod Recognizes Two Modern Saints by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark the evanglist 118th ". Middle East Journal, Editors Blog. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Patriarchs of Alexandria
Patriarchs prior to the Chalcedonian schism (43–451)	Mark I the Evangelist (founder) Anianus Avilius Kedronos Primus Justus Eumenius Markianos* Celadion Agrippinus Julian Demetrius I Heraclas Dionysius Maximus Theonas Peter I Achillas Alexander I Athanasius I Peter II Timothy I Theophilus I Cyril I Dioscorus I
Coptic Orthodox Popes and Patriarchs (451–present)	Timothy II Peter III Athanasius II John I John II Dioscorus II Timothy III Theodosius I Peter IV Damian Anastasius Andronicus Benjamin I Agathon John III Isaac Simeon I Alexander II Cosmas I Theodore I Michael I Mina I John IV Mark II James Simeon II Joseph I Michael II Cosmas II Shenouda I Michael III Gabriel I Cosmas III Macarius I Theophilus II Mina II Abraham Philotheos Zacharias Shenouda II Christodoulos Cyril II Michael IV Macarius II Gabriel II Michael V John V Mark III John VI Cyril III Athanasius III John VII Gabriel III John VII Theodosius III John VIII John IX Benjamin II Peter V Mark IV John X Gabriel IV Matthew I Gabriel V John XI Matthew II Gabriel VI Michael VI John XII John XIII Gabriel VII John XIV Gabriel VIII Mark V John XV Matthew III Mark VI Matthew IV John XVI Peter VI John XVII Mark VII John XVIII Mark VIII Peter VII Cyril IV Demetrius II Cyril V John XIX Macarius III Joseph II Cyril VI Shenouda III Tawadros II (current)
Greek Orthodox Popes and Patriarchs (451–present)	Proterius Timothy II Timothy III John I Peter III Athanasius II John II John III Dioscorus II Timothy IV Theodosius I Gaianus Paul Zoilus Apollinarius John IV Eulogius Theodore I John V George I Cyrus Peter IV Peter V Peter VI Cosmas I Politianus Eustatius Christopher I Sophronius I Michael I Michael II Christodoulos Eutychius Sophronius II Isaac Job Elias I Arsenius Theophilus II George II Leontius Alexander II John VI Cyril II Sabbas Sophronius III Elias II Eleutherius Mark III* Nicholas I Gregory I Nicholas II Athanasius III Gregory II Gregory III Niphon Mark IV Nicholas III Gregory IV Nicholas IV Athanasius IV Mark V Philotheus Mark VI Gregory V Joachim I Silvester Meletius I Pegas Cyril III Gerasimus I Metrophanes Nicephorus Joannicius Paisius Parthenius I Gerasimus II Samuel Cosmas II Cosmas III Matthew Cyprian Gerasimus III Parthenius II Theophilus III Hierotheus I Artemius Hierotheus II Callinicus Jacob Nicanor Nilus Sophronius IV Photius Meletius II Nicholas V Christopher II Nicholas VI Parthenius III Peter VII Theodore II (current)
Latin Catholic (1276–1954)	Atanasio (Athanasius) Egidio da Ferrara (Giles) ?Humbert II, Dauphin of Vienne Juan (John) Guillaume de Chanac Arnaud Bernard du Pouget (Arnaldo Bernardi) uncanonical Jean de Cardaillac Pietro Amely di Brunac ? Johannes Walteri von Sinten uncanonical Simon of Cramaud Pietro Amely di Brunac Leonardo Dolfin Ugo Roberti Pietro Amaury di Lordat Lancelotus de Navarra Giovanni Contarini Pietro Vitalis di Mauléon Giovanni Vitelleschi Marco Condulmer Jean d'Harcourt Arnaldo Rogerii de Palas Pedro de Urrea Pedro González de Mendoza Diego Hurtado de Mendoza Alonso de Fonseca y Acevedo Bernardino Carafa Cesare Riario Guido Ascanio Sforza di Santa Fiora Ottaviano Maria Sforza Julius Gonzaga Cristoforo Guidalotti Ciocchi del Monte Jacques Cortès Tommaso Alessandro Riario Enrico Caetani Giovanni Battista Albani Camillo Caetani Séraphin Olivier-Razali Alessandro di Sangro Honoratus Caetani Federico Borromeo Allesandro Crescenzi Aloysius Bevilacqua Petrus Draghi Bartoli Gregorio Giuseppe Gaetani de Aragonia Carlo Ambrosio Mezzabarba Filippo Carlo Spada Girolamo Crispi Giuseppe Antonio Davanzati Lodovico Agnello Anastasi Francisco Mattei Augustus Foscolo Paolo Angelo Ballerini Domenico Marinangeli Paolo de Huyn Luca Ermenegildo Pasetto
Melkite Catholic (1724–present)	Cyril VI Tanas Athanasius IV Jawhar Maximos II Hakim Theodosius V Dahan Athanasius IV Jawhar Cyril VII Siaj Agapius II Matar Ignatius IV Sarrouf Athanasius V Matar Macarius IV Tawil Ignatius V Qattan Maximos III Mazloum Clement Bahouth Gregory II Youssef-Sayur Peter IV Geraigiry Cyril VIII Geha Demetrius I Qadi Cyril IX Moghabghab Maximos IV Sayegh Maximos V Hakim Gregory III Laham Youssef I Absi
Coptic Catholic (1824–present)	Maximos Jouwed Kyrillos Makarios Stéphanos I Sidarouss Stéphanos II Ghattas Antonios I Naguib Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak
*Markianos is considered Mark II on the Greek side of the subsequent schism, hence this numbering of Mark III. Category Commons

v t e Saints in the Coptic Church
Patriarchs	Abraham Isaac Jacob Joseph
Prophets	Moses Job Samuel David Hosea Amos Micah Joel Obadiah Jonah Nahum Noah Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Isaiah Jeremiah Baruch Ezekiel Daniel John the Baptist
Theotokos	Mary, Our Lady of Assiut Belarus Poland Warraq Zeitoun
Seven Archangels	Michael Gabriel Raphael Suriel Zedekiel Sarathiel Ananiel
Apostles	Andrew Bartholomew James, son of Alphaeus James, son of Zebedee John Jude Matthew Matthias Paul Peter Philip Simon Thomas
Disciples	Apollos Barnabas Mary Magdalene Phoebe the Deaconess Philemon Priscilla and Aquila Silvanus Stephen Timothy Titus Seventy disciples
Evangelists	Matthew Mark Luke John
Martyrs	21 Martyrs of Libya Abāmūn Abāmūn Abanoub Abaskhiron Alexandrian Martyrs Arianus Apollonia Barbara Bashnouna Basilides and Potamiana Catherine Chrysanthus and Daria Chiaffredo Colluthus Cosmas and Damian Cyprian and Justina Cyrus and John Dasya Demiana Dorothea Elias and companions Epimachus Faustus, Abibus and Dionysius Felix and Regula Gabriel Abdel El-Metgaly Gallicanus George George Bishop of Assiut George El Mozahem Gereon Hor, Besoy, and Daydara Imbaba Martyrs Isaac of Dafra John of Senhout Kosheh martyrs Malati Marina the Martyr Maspero Martyrs Maurice Memnon Menas Mohrael Moura Nag Hammadi Otimus Philomena Philotheos Rais Sarah Sidhom Bishay Theban Legion Thecla Theoclia Theodora and Didymus Theodore Stratelates Varus Veronica Wadamoun Wanas
Popes	Mark I Anianus Avilius Kedron Justus Eumenes Markianos Celadion Agrippinus Julian Demetrius I Heraclas Dionysius Theonas Felix of Rome Peter I Alexander I Athanasius I Peter II Timothy I Theophilus I Cyril I Dioscorus I Timothy II Peter III Dioscorus II Timothy III Theodosius I Peter IV Damian Anastasius Andronicus Benjamin I Agathon Simeon I Alexander II Theodore I Michael I John IV Mark II James Simeon II Joseph I Michael II Cosmas II Michael III Gabriel I Cosmas III Abraham Zacharias Cyril II Macarius II Matthew I Gabriel VII John XIV Cyril V Macarius III Cyril VI
Bishops	Abadiu of Antinoe Abraam of Faiyum Alexander of Jerusalem Amun of Scetis Basil of Caesarea Cyril of Jerusalem Epiphanius of Cyprus Eusebius of Caesarea Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Neocaesarea Ignatius of Antioch Jacob of Nisibis James of Jerusalem John of Nikiû John of Jerusalem Karas of California Mikhaeil of Asyut Narcissus of Jerusalem Nicholas of Myra Paphnutius of Scetis Paphnutius of Thebes Polycarp of Smyrna Porphyrius of Gaza Psote of Ebsay Serapion of Thmuis Severian of Gabala Yousab el-Abah of Girga
Monks and nuns	Abdel Messih El-Makari Abib and Apollo Abraham of Farshut Abraham of Scetis Amun Anthony the Great Awgin Bashnouna Hilarion Horsiesius Hospitius Mother Irini Isaac of Nineveh Isidore of Pelusium John Climacus John the Dwarf Macarius of Alexandria Macarius of Egypt Marina the Monk Moses the Black Nilus of Sinai Pachomius the Great Pambo Parsoma Patapios Paul of Thebes Paul of Tammah Paul the Simple Petronius Pishoy Poemen Samuel the Confessor Sisoes the Great Tekle Haymanot Theodorus of Tabennese Theodora of Alexandria
Anchorites	Karas Mary Misael Onuphrius Paphnutius Paul Pijimi Shenouda Thomas Zosimas
Other saints	Ambrose Clement of Alexandria Didymus the Blind Euphrosyne Habib Girgis Candidus Simon the Tanner Three Holy Children Maximus and Domatius Verena
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Early life

Coptic Pope

See also

Notes

References

External links