In the previous article, we spoke of Pope Youssab I, the fifty-second patriarch and the tribulations that alighted upon him after his enthronement. We also spoke of the bishop of Tennis and that of al-Fustat and their cruelty toward their congregation, as well as the Synod’s decree to detain them. This made them conspire against Pope Youssab, reviling him at the proconsul’s. Bin al-Muqaffa’ writes that they accused the Pope of instigating the Peshmurians against the Caliph and the proconsul. They told him, “God has delivered to you the enemies of the king and your own. Having exterminated them, do not let the one who instigated them live. ‘Who instigated them?’ ‘It’s patriarch Youssab’ They wanted him to kill him … All what was done was contrived by the Pope. So much so that the king and the proconsul got badly tired.”
They added that the Pope had gathered a lot of people who were ready to carry out his orders. So, the proconsul believed them and sent his brother to the church to bring him that he might put him to death, accompanied by the two bishops. The bishop of Tennis led the proconsul’s brother and showed him the patriarch that he might arrest him. No sooner had the prince seen the Pope, than he took out his sword to kill him!
Yet, his hand was bent, and the sword hit a marble pillar which broke instantly. The prince became furious and brought out a dagger and tried to stab the Pope in his side. Yet, only his clothes were torn, and his body remained sound. When the prince saw what happened and that the stab did not affect him, he became sure that the patriarch was protected by God. So, he decided to escort him to his brother.
Some historians maintain that when the congregation saw the soldiers trying to take Pope Youssab to the proconsul, they clung to him and wept. The Pope calmed them down. But they marched after him sadly, which made infuriated the prince who beat the Pope on his head with a whip, thus injuring his eye!
When the Pope arrived at the proconsul’s palace, the latter faced him with the bishops’ story. So, the Pope told him the truth about the Peshmurians and the bishops who were detained due to the people’s rebellion against them. Only then, the proconsul made sure of Pope Youssab’s innocence and that he was wrongly accused. So, he got angry with the bishops and ordered they be punished. Yet, Pope Youssab, being quite forgiving, was terrified to see two of his children hurt, even though they deviated from the correct path and harmed him. So, he asked the proconsul to pardon them, saying, “My religion commands me do reward evil with good. God has corrected your understanding of what these two had done. So, I ask you to do good, and leave them for God’s sake.” The proconsul marveled at the Pope’s love and forgiveness of the wrong-doers. He set them free. When the Caliph was informed, he ordered that the Pope be honored.
Ordinances
The Pope cared for everybody, including those who wanted to usurp the patriarchal See! He cared for Isaac bin Andona, having seen that he was rejected by the congregation. So, he wanted to win his soul over, being one of his children. So, he ordained him deacon, then his deputy in Ussim, which pleased him a lot, and, thus declared his succumbing to the Pope. After a while, the patriarch wanted to ordain two bishops for Tennis and the capital. So, he ordained a Demetrius bishop on Tennis. As for the capital, he entrusted it to bishop Isaac who he had ordained bishop of Ussim. Thus, he remained both bishop of Ussim and patriarchal deputy in the capital until the end of his life.
Striving to Dignity
After bishop Isaac had departed, Pope Youssab ordained deacon John bishop of the capital, calling him Abba John, in response to a request from Egypt’s elites. As for the diocese of Ussim, he ordained deacon Buqaira who departed shortly afterwards. Thus, a person called Tadros, one of bishop Isaac’s disciples, wanted to become bishop! But the congregation did not want that person. So, the Pope did not ordain him. So, Tadros was infuriated and sought the help of Ali bin Yahya the Armenian, Egypt’s proconsul during al-Mu’tasim’s caliphate, asking him to compel the Pope to ordain him.
So, the proconsul brought the Pope over to present him the issue. But, the Pope refused, denying the ruler’s interference in the Church’s affairs and choice of pastors, which infuriated the proconsul and made him threaten to demolish all the churches of al-Fustat. He started demolishing the Hanging Church from its top. The Pope kept weeping bitterly. At that time, some elders asked the Pope to ordain that person for the peace of the church, and that he would be held accountable for himself: for whoever strives to attain a clerical rank undeservedly should perish.
So, the Pope agreed, having made God his witness. Yet, when the proconsul got to know of the man’s ordinance, he did not cool down. Nor did he refrain from demolishing churches, for he wanted the Pope to give him a large sum of money. So, the elders went to the proconsul to guarantee the Pope in paying the money and ordaining the bishop. Thus, Tadros became bishop of Ussim.
Al-Fustat
No sooner had matters settled down a little, than bishop John of al-Fustat gave Pope Youssab more hard time, for he strove to attain greater dignity, using his relation with Egypt’s minister of justice who was cruel and unjust to influence the Pope. He did succeed: for the minister started thinking of hurting the Pope.
It came to pass that, while bishop John and other bishops who took his side were at the minister’s, that the minister sent to the Pope to come over. When the Pope arrived, the minister asked the bishops to deny his papacy and give it to the bishop of the capital! They complied with his order.
At that time, the Pope addressed them in Coptic, telling them about their mistake. A Muslim scholar who knew Coptic translated what he heard to the minister, which infuriated him: for he thought that the Pope was against him. Yet, he realized the truth when the Pope told him he had an accreditation from Caliphs al-Ma’mun, al-Mu’tasim, and al-Wathiq. The minister asked him for this accreditation, and when the Pope produced it, he left him respectfully. The Pope left, bearing his foes love and forgiveness, and beseeching God not to hold this sin against them.
The bishop of the capital did not stop reviling the Pope at the minister of justice’s who would grasp all opportunities to harm the Pope! Such stories will never end in Beautiful Egypt.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
