Pope Avilius of Alexandria (also known as Abilius, Sabellius, Abylius, Abitius, Milius and Melyos) (? – 95 AD), was the 3rd

Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...

Overview

Upon the death of

Anianus of Alexandria Pope Anianus was the 2nd Patriarch of Alexandria. He was ordained by Saint Mark the Evangelist, and was also the first convert Mark won to Christianity in the region.Atiya, Aziz S.. ''The Coptic Encyclopedia''. New York: Macmillan Publishing Com ...

, the suffragan bishops and priests of the area converged with the laity in Alexandria and unanimously elected Avilius in the month of December (Kiahk), 83 AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

. Pope Avilius was known for his chastity, and was pious and caring towards the people of Christ. He continued to establish the people in faith and the Christians grew in number in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and in the five western provinces, and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. During his time serving, the Egyptian people began renouncing the worshiping of idols and practiced their Christianity together, in groups. Despite the religion of Egypt being

Roman Paganism Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...

, his time as pope was a time of peace for the church. While some historians claim that Emperor Domitian expelled Avilius from the episcopal throne, and installed another in his place, there is no written record of this. According to historical records, he remained in his position for twelve years, and died on the first of ''

Thout Thout ( cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ, ), also known as Thoth ( grc-gre, Θωθ, ''Thōth'') and Tut. ( ar, توت), is the first month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lies between 11 September and 10 October of the Gregorian calendar. T ...

'' (11 September), in the year 95. Avilius was buried next to the remains of St.

Mark the Evangelist Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Acco ...

in the Church of

Baucalis Baucalis, also called Boukolou, and Baukalis, is a section in Alexandria, Egypt where St. Mark was reported to have been martyred, along with the historic location of his martyrium. It is also where Arius (Greek: Ἄρειος, AD 250 or 256–336) ...

in Alexandria.

Veneration

He is venerated as a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

in various churches. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

in the

Coptic Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

is on The Coptic New Year 1 Thout, which is September 11 in the

Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years d ...

, and on 29 August and 29 March in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, and February 22 in

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

References

External links

Coptic Documents in French

Overview

Veneration

References

External links

Further reading