Al-Mustansir was contemporary of four father patriarchs: Pope Shenouda II (1032- 1047 AD) (65th); Pope Christodoulos (1047-1077 AD) (66th), Pope Kyrillos II (1078-1092 AD) (67th) and Pope Mikhail II (1092-1102 AD) (68th).
Pope Shenouda II (1032- 1047 AD)
The 65th Patriarch of Alexandria. He was a contemporary of Caliph Al-Zahir, then an epoch of the rule of Caliph Al-Mustansir (1036- 1094 AD). After the departure of Pope Zakharias, the 64th patriarch of Alexandria, leaving behind the See of Saint Mark void, the bishops were hesitated in selecting a successor; finally, they set up their mind to select a monk, named Monk Shenouda, from Saint Macarius’ Monastery at Wadi Al-Natroun. He was a resident of Tilbana, a city in Al-Mansoura, Al-Dakahlia Governorate. He joined monasticism at the age of fourteen. Severus ibn al-Muqaffa mentioned him in his history: “It is said that Shenouda craved for the patriarchate, sought for obtaining the episcopacy of Egypt yet he had nothing to pay for that, so he was driven away and Philataus was made a bishop of Egypt…” Some historians recalled that he was ordained an archpriest after chosen for patriarchate, then he proceeded in a march to Alexandria to be consecrated a patriarch during the rule of Caliph Al-Zahir.
During these days, a Copt named Buqaira Al-Rashidi, a close man to the royal house, went in the company of senior Copts to the caliph in order to obtain an approval on consecrating the pope, they had their request fulfilled, and the sum of money to be paid to the State Treasury on such occasion, estimated 3000 dinars was waived. (Some historians mentioned it is 6000 dinars).
When Monk Shenouda was recommended, the priests of Alexandria stipulated that he must offer them the money necessary for their churches (500 dinars annually). The eminent Christians as well demanded him to denounce simony, which means accepting money from those to be ordained priests or bishops. Historians state that Monk Shenouda did not comply by these pledges after being a patriarch, rather, he was seized by love for money and worldly glories; he craved greedily for collecting money and heaping it for himself, he gave his relatives much money; ordained bishops only after receiving money from the one to be ordained. An example is the incident of Priest Youhanna who had failed to obtain episcopacy rank during the days of Pope Zakharias, yet in the days of Pope Shenouda II he managed to become the bishop of Al Farama (Al-Arish). He also ordained a bishop at Deir Arshi in Assiut after receiving a great amount of money, however, the people of Assiut banned him from entering the governorate along three years for the money he paid, they abided by the canon laws which stipulate that no money shall be paid or received by a priest who offers himself to God, as Lord Christ told His disciples: “Freely you have received, freely give.” So, the bishop returned to the patriarch, demanding either the money he paid or to order the people to accept him as a bishop, nonetheless, he could do nothing and did not return the money either, many similar incidents happened. Moreover, Pope Shenouda II issued a decree that all the possessions of the bishops – upon their departure – shall be transferred to the Patriarchate. This decree was first applied on the Bishop of Shanan, whose house was taken over by the Patriarch upon his departure, Ibn al-Muqaffa recalled: “His brother came and pleaded for him (the Patriarch) to give him back the house void of any contents, yet he did not turn an ear to him and left him needy”. He was sued by the bishop’s brother who neglected his religion till he took the house back.
In his second year of papacy, he refused to pay subsidies to the churches of Alexandria; flaring up the crisis between him and its priests, to the extent of filing a lawsuit in a council attended by senior Coptic men, yet it had a miserable end. The father patriarch did not give up such actions until his departure. He was said to have had a bad temper and mistreated people. In his days, the Nile water decreased, poverty spread, mice spread throughout Egypt spoiling crops, food and drink. Then, in his last days, he had a severe headache with a cough, and he remained ill for three years. In his book “The History of the Coptic Church”, Priest Manasseh Youhanna mentioned: “He spent the rest of his life abhorred until death consumed him.” He departed in 1047 AD after assuming the See of Saint Mark for 14 years, 7 months and few days. Pope Christodoulos was chosen to succeed him. And … stories in beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
