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 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 ...

. He was born as Youhanna (John) in 1824 or 1830/1831 according to different accounts and he died on 7 August 1927.

A monk

He joined the Al Baramous Monastery in the

Nitrian Desert The Nitrian Desert is a desert region in northwestern Egypt, lying between Alexandria and Cairo west of the Nile Delta. It is known for its history of Christian monasticism."Nitrian Desert", in F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., ''The Oxfo ...

, where he served as abbot prior to his elevation to Pope.

The Coptic Pope

The

General Congregation Council General Congregation Council () is part of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and represents the laity of the Church, it is also known as the Coptic Orthodox Lay Council Established in February 1874 during the vacancy time of the Patriarcha ...

(Elmagles Elmelly Ela'am) elected him Pope, with seat in the

Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral () is a Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Coptic church architecture, church located in the Abbassia District in Cairo, Egypt. The cathedral is the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, seat of ...

in Azbakeya in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

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.''Al-Ahram Weekly'' article
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. Notable men of the Coptic Church during his papacy included saint Anba Abraam, Bishop of Fayoum, Labib Ekladius, and

Habib Girgis Archdeacon Habib Qozman Mankarious Girgis ( ; 1876 – 21 August 1951) or simply Saint Habib Girgis, was a modern-day dean of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. He was the first student for the modern-day Theological School, and was th ...

. In 1881 the

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

n Emperor

Yohannes IV Yohannes IV ( Tigrinya: ዮሓንስ ፬ይ ''Rabaiy Yōḥānnes''; horse name Abba Bezbiz also known as Kahśsai; born ''Lij'' Kahssai Mercha; 11 July 1837 – 10 March 1889) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1871 to his death in 1889 at the ...

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. When news of his death reached Ethiopia, Empress

Zewditu Zewditu (, born Askala Maryam; 29 April 1876 – 2 April 1930) was Empress of Ethiopia from 1916 until her death in 1930. She was officially renamed Zewditu at the beginning of her reign as Empress of Ethiopia. Once she succeeded the throne af ...

and Ras Tafari ordered requiem masses to be said throughout Ethiopia, and that government offices be closed for three days.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

References

Sources

Coptic Orthodox Synaxarium (Book of Saints)

The Renewal of Coptic Orthodoxy in the Twentieth Century

Pope Kyrillos V and the reopening of the Theological School of Alexandria in 1893, and appointment of Archdeacon Habib Guirguis as its Dean in 1918

External links

Pope Kyrillos V – Archive of Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Theology (St Cyril's Coptic Orthodox Theological College)

The crown of Anba Cyril V, 112th Patriarch (Coptic Museum in Cairo)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyril 05 of Alexandria, Pope Cyril V of Alexandria 1927 deaths 1831 births People from Beni Suef Governorate 20th-century popes of the Coptic Orthodox Church

A monk

The Coptic Pope

See also

References

Sources

External links