Archdeacon Habib Qozman Mankarious Girgis ( ; 1876 – 21 August 1951) or simply Saint Habib Girgis, was a modern-day

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the

Catechetical School of Alexandria The Catechetical School of Alexandria was a school of Christian theologians and bishops and deacons in Alexandria. The teachers and students of the school (also known as the Didascalium) were influential in many of the early Christian theology, ...

. He was the first student for the modern-day Theological School, and was thus appointed to succeed his predecessor, Youssef Bey Mankarious, in the year 1918, as the second dean of the renewed center of theology. On 20 June 2013, he was canonised as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, along with

Pope Cyril VI Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria also called Abba Kyrillos VI, ; (2 August 1902 – 9 March 1971; 26 Epip 1618 – 30 Meshir 1687) was the List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria, 116th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St ...

Early work

Before he became the head of renowned Theological Seminary, Habib Girgis felt that preaching and adult education were not sufficient for the advancement of the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

. Protestant and Catholic missionaries have been at work since the mid-nineteenth century, with the aim to radically influence the views of the Copts in order to abandon their long lasting faith in

Oriental Orthodoxy The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...

. Thus, with many issues at hand, Habib Girgis decided to establish

Sunday schools ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are used to provide ...

at the beginning of the twentieth century as a means of satisfying the need for education. As a result, Coptic Orthodox Sunday schools were founded in major cities in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in the year 1900—fifteen years before there were even Egyptian public schools.The story and significance of Archdeacon George Habib (automatic translation)
/ref> The Sunday school movement flourished in

after much hard work, and now,

Coptic studies Coptology is the scientific study of the Coptic people. Origin The European interest in Coptology may have started as early as the 15th century AD. The term was used in 1976 when the First International Congress of Coptology was held in Cairo ...

thrive in Egypt and abroad. As Habib Girgis saw it, the interest of young children were the true foundations of Sunday schools, and by 1900, Sunday school was the main pillar for the renaissance of Coptic Orthodox Christianity in the twentieth century until present, thanks in part to the hard work of Habib Girgis and other famous modern-day Sunday school teachers in the Coptic Church. Coptic churches and villages throughout Egypt at the start of the twentieth century felt that they needed to include better curriculum and more textbooks. By the year 1899,

Pope Cyril V Pope Cyril V of Alexandria (Abba Kyrillos V) was the 112th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, reigning for 52 years, 9 months and 6 days. He was the longest-serving Pope in the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He wa ...

issued the need to teach children to learn and deepen their faith, as Habib Girgis visualized the need for raising children in accordance with the teachings of

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and the spirit of faithful patriotism. Habib Girgis worked to restructure Sunday school curricula significantly, as he had striven to do what he did eventually: ''to improve academic standards''.

Dean of the Seminary

He dedicated his life to the seminary and its improvement. Habib Girgis assisted the Pope in expanding its buildings in Mahmasha. Pope Kyrillos V often visited the seminary and blessed its students. This deacon was a skillful speaker. He accompanied the Pope in his pastoral visits to Upper Egypt and Sudan. He translated many religious books from foreign languages to Arabic and published El-Karma periodical, to spread the facts of the faith in a positive way. He published many books, among them were: The Seven Sacraments of the Church, The Consoler of the Faithful, The Mystery of Piety, and many others. He taught and nurtured many generations of clergymen who flourished in the church and filled it with their sermons and religious publications. He remained dean until his death in 1951. Later that year Pope Yusab II appointed Father Ibrahim Attia as Habib's successor as dean. With Father Ibrahim, who did carry the work on, there were many new improvements in the years to come. This would eventually lead up to Bishop (the recently departed Pope) Shenouda's involvement as the current dean of the

Sainthood

On 20 June 2013, Announcement of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, presided over by Pope Tawadros II, by the sanctity of Habib Girgis.

Biography

A Biography called "Habib Girgis, Coptic orthodox Educator and A light in the Darkness" by Bishop

Anba Suriel Anba Suriel also called Bishop Suriel (born Nabil Guirgis; 9 May 1963) is a bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, United States. He previously led the Coptic Orthodox Church in Australia, Diocese of Melbourne and affiliated regions ...

was published by SVS Press in 2017 and includes newly discovered texts from the Coptic Orthodox Archives in Cairo.

References

External links