A few days separates us from thecelebration of that wondrous person who amazed everyone who dealt with him, a person said about him: “This man is not from this world”!! “A man like no other, a true saint, and an ascetic” He isone of the heroes on the pages of the sparkling Egyptian history: he is Pope Kyrillos VI (the 116th patriarch of Alexandria).Probably what was written about Pope Kyrillos after his death exceeded what was written during his life; howeverthose who spoke about him realized that they were in front of one of the characters who is characterized by simple appearance and deep strength at the same time.
Sheikh Ahmed Hassan El-Bagoury the former Minister of Endowments, Al- Azharscholar wrote: “His Holiness Pope Kyrillos VI is one of those great peoplewhom words aren’t enoughto describe their amity and importance.”
Dr. priest Labib Mashriqi, the Supreme Evangelical Council, also said: “Pope Kyrillos VI is one of the greatest poles of the Christian world, rarelyto find someone like him in devoutness, piety, strong character, and the expansion of the range of spiritual visions, andsocial and political aspirations. As I present his life, I present a huge life that is characterized by its size not only by measuring its length: Was it only twelve years?! No!… It needed twelve centuries and more to accomplish the glorious amount of work done by the Late great Pope…!!!”
The fame of Pope Kyrillos VI extended through the whole world, asOtto Meinardus the German American historian said: “On March 9th, Pope Kyrillos, one of the greatest Patriarchs of the Apostolic See in Alexandria, died.”
The life of Pope Kyrillos VI was characterized by a depth and power that combine together in a wonderful harmony, in a glowing simplicity and love; not only to Egypt but to the whole world to be blessed by a unique heavenly personality.
The Man of Prayer
Pope Kyrillos VI was known as “The Man of Prayer” as he used to perform prayers and liturgy daily throughout his life.
Pope Shenouda III, the Thrice Beatified mentioned: “Pope Kyrillos- may God rest his soul in heaven- spent almost forty years in the service of priesthood, and during that period he used to performthe Divine Liturgy daily. He liked to pray all prayers, praises, and psalms. There is no one in the church’s history who was able to perform all those masses as Pope Kyrillos …I tried to count the number of masses that he prayed during his life and I found them to bemore than twelve thousands masses (except for the last five years in which he was sick).That is a thing that didn’t happen neither in the Popes’ history nor the monks’.
Al Akhbar newspaper wrote in its issue on 10/3/1971: “Pope Kyrillos VI, the ascetic who gave all his life to worship and gave his country his thoughts and prayers.” Yes he is Pope Kyrillos who always repeated: “Nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” His eyes were heading towards heaven at the times of temptations, tribulations and pain as well as the times of tranquility and joy.
A True Monk
Although Pope Kyrillos VIascended the See of St. Mark the Apostle but he never forget that he was the ascetic monk who left the whole world with its pleasures and chose only God and that was one of the secrets of his strength and depth.
In 1970, Dr. Priest Eugene Carson Blake, the Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches at that time, said in a press interview: “Pope Kyrillos is a simple man, but he is deep…he hasa deep insight. To be honest: I couldn’tlook in his eyes!! The Pope believes in monasticism and he talks about it with great passion…He is an ascetic man, this I think is the secret of his power…And that is the slogan of the true monk.”
Truly St. Pope Kyrillos VI was a monk in his clothing and food even after he became a Patriarch; he was a visitor from heaven who lit Egypt with his devoutness.
Stories about Beautiful Egypt never end!
General Bishop,
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
