• Pope Shenouda III

    Pope Shenouda III

    1923 – 2012

    Contents

    Biography

    Pope Shenouda III (1923–2012) was the 117th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church. During his papacy he distinguished himself as a prolific writer,  popular preacher and fierce defender of Coptic rights. He remains one of the most influential figures in contemporary Coptic history.

    Available Texts

    Christian Unity
    Pope Shenouda III
    1985

    Bibliography

    Works

    Pope Shenouda’s literary output is staggeringly large, comprising well over a hundred books of which many were translated into English. He also wrote hundreds of articles in Coptic periodicals (chiefly al-Kiraza, which he founded) and delivered public lectures every week for virtually his entire papacy. A full list of his entire oeuvre would be a significant undertaking. A more realistic goal (and one of potentially greater academic interest) would be a chronological list of the books and articles he published at different stage of his life, i.e. as Nazir Gayyid, Fr Antonios al-Suryani and Bishop Shenouda of Education. This page will be updated as progress is made; if you would like to help, please contact us.

    • In the meantime, see the English works hosted at OrthoKairos and Orthodox eBooks, and the Arabic work hosted at Coptic Treasures.

    Secondary Sources

    Gille, Matthias. 2017. Der koptische Papst Schenuda III: Beobachtungen zu Theologie und Biografie. Anwendungsorientierte Religionswissenschaft, vol. 11. Baden-Baden: Tectum Verlag. (Tectum Verlag)

    Fernandez, Alberto Miguel. 1983. “The Coptic Orthodox Salvation Theology of Anba Shenuda III.” MA Dissertation. University of Arizona. Available online at UA Campus Repository.  (PDF)

    O’Mahony, Anthony. “Tradition at the heart of renewal: the Coptic Orthodox Church and Monasticism in Modern Egypt”, International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 7, no. 3 (2007), 164–178.

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    Affiliation(s):  Clerical College  |  Sunday School Movement
  • Pope Kyrillos VI

    Pope Kyrillos VI

    1902 – 1971

    Contents

    Biography

    (Saint) Pope Kyrillos VI (1902–1971) was one of the Coptic Orthodox Church’s foremost twentieth‐century patriarchs, reigning from 1959 to 1971. The period preceding his reign left the Church in trauma and division. Egypt had experienced political independence, which resulted in unforeseen economic and political tensions. His reign also came at a time that saw the Church confronted by political Islam, including the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Within the short twelve years of his patriarchate, the Church experienced an unprecedented revival and transformation.[fn]See Daniel Fanous, A Silent Patriarch (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 2019).[/fn] In 2013 he was canonised as a saint of the Coptic Church, along with his older contemporary, the Archdeacon Habib Girgis.

    Available Texts

    On the Great Fast
    Pope Kyrillos VI
    1971
    Letter on the Nativity
    Pope Kyrillos VI
    1960
    First Pastoral Letter
    Pope Kyrillos VI
    1959

    Bibliography

    Primary Sources

    Pope Kyrillos’ written legacy is relatively small, but significant. A full bibliography is still under construction. Collected Egyptian Newspaper Articles relating to Pope Kyrillos VI (courtesy of Coptic Studies in Egypt):

    Secondary Sources

    Fanous, Daniel. The Silent Patriarch: Kyrillos VI (1902–1971). Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2019.

    Guirguis, Magdi. & van Doorn-Harder, Nelly. The Emergence of the Modern Coptic Papacy. The Popes of Egypt: A History of the Coptic Church and Its Patriarchs, Volume 3. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2011.

    O’Mahony, Anthony. “Tradition at the heart of renewal: the Coptic Orthodox Church and Monasticism in Modern Egypt”, International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 7, no. 3 (2007), 164–178.

    Wakin, E. A Lonely Minority: The Modern Story of Egypt’s Copts. Revised edition. iUniverse, 2000: pp. 118–30.

    Watson, John. “Abba Kyrillos: Patriarch and Solitary,” Coptic Church Review 17.1/2 (1996): 1–48 (PDF)

    van Doorn-Harder, Nelly. “Kyrillos VI (1902–1971): Planner, Patriarch and Saint.” In Between Desert and City: The Coptic Orthodox Church Today, edited by Nelly van Doorn-Harder and Kari Vogt, 230–42. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock.

     

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    Connections:  Bishop Gregorius  |  Bishop Samuel

    Subject Area(s):  Coptic Popes
  • Pope Kyrillos V

    Pope Kyrillos V

    1824 – 1927

    Contents

    Biography

    Pope Kyrillos V (1824–1927) was the 112th Patriarch of Alexandria. He held this office for 53 years (1874–1927), making him the longest serving Coptic Pope. His long reign saw many developments that shaped the Coptic Church into its modern form. Particularly notable is his patronage of Archdeacon Habib Girgis and the burgeoning Sunday School movement.[fn]See Anba Suriel, “Habib Girgis: Orthodox Educator” (SVS Press, 2017).[/fn]

    A particularly notable achievement of his papacy was the establishment of the Coptic Theological Seminary in 1893, an institution that would play an essential role in the Sunday School movement and theological revival of the next century.[fn]S. Tadros, Motherland Lost (2013), 107.[/fn]

    In the words of Aziz S. Atiya: “He occupied the throne for well-nigh fifty-three years. His loyalty, piety and good intentions were above reproach. But he combined with imperturbable obstinacy, the narrowness of an honest man whose education was limited to the knowledge that he had gathered as a simple copyist.”[fn]A. S. Atiya, The History of Eastern Christianity (2013), 108.[/fn]



     

    Bibliography

    A. Selected Works

    Kyrillos V, Kyrillos V to Habib Girgis, 27 February 1923, in Habib Girgis, al-Kanz al-ānfas fī mulakhkhaṣ al-kitāb wa-l-tārīkh al-muqaddas, vol. 1, i. Cairo, 1923.

    Kyrillos V, “Patriarchal Edict” [Manshūr Baṭriyarkī], al-Majalla al-Qibtiyya 1, no. 10 (Jan 1908): 1–16.
     

    B. Further Reading

    Atiya, Aziz S. The History of Eastern Christianity. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1968 (on pages 107–111). (Amazon)

    Farag, Lois. “Letter of Condolences on the Death of King Edward VII by Pope Cyril V of Alexandria.” Journal of World Christianity 6, no. 2 (2016): 311-17.

    Seikaly, Samir. “Coptic Communal Reform: 1860-1914.” Middle Eastern Studies 6. no. 3 (1970): 247–75 (on pages 251–66).

    Shoucri, M. “Cyril V”. In The Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia (1991). Macmillan/Claremont Graduate University.

    Suriel, Bishop. Habib Girgis: Coptic Orthodox Educator and A Light in the Darkness. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2017.

    Tadros, Samuel. Motherland Lost: The Egyptian Quest for Modernity. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 2013 (on pages 101–8). (Amazon)

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    Connections:  Habib Girgis

    Affiliation(s):  Baramos Monastery
    Subject Area(s):  Coptic Popes
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