Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria,
38th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. He is regarded as one of the greatest patriarchs of the
Coptic Church
The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي ...
. Benjamin guided the Coptic church through a period of turmoil in Egyptian history
Atiya, Aziz S.
Aziz Suryal Atiya ( ar, عزيز سوريال عطية, ; July 5, 1898 – September 24, 1988) was an Egyptian Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies.
Atiya was the founder of the I ...
''The Coptic Encyclopedia
The ''Coptic Encyclopedia'' is an eight-volume work covering the history, theology, language, art, architecture, archeology and hagiography of Coptic Egypt. The encyclopedia was written by over 250 Western and Egyptian contributing experts in th ...
''. New York:Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991. . that included the fall of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
to the
Sassanid Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
, followed by Egypt's reconquest under the
Byzantines, and finally the
Arab Islamic Conquest
The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territories ...
in 642. After the Arab conquest Pope Benjamin, who was in exile, was allowed to return to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
and resume the patriarchate.
Early life
He was born around 590 in Barshüt, in the
Beheira
Beheira Governorate ( ar, محافظة البحيرة ', , "the governorate of the Lake") is a coastal governorate in Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur.
Overview
Beheira Governorate en ...
region of the western
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...
area. Comparatively little is known about his early life, other than that he came from a Coptic family of comfortable means. The proximity of his home to the capital city of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
has led some to assume that he received some education there.
No details on his family life are known, other than that he had one brother, Mennas. Mennas is known for having been tortured with fire and, eventually, being drowned in the Nile by the Byzantine Patriarch
Cyrus of Alexandria
Cyrus of Alexandria ( ar, المقوقس ''al-Muqawqis'', el, Κῦρος Ἀλεξανδρείας) was a Melchite patriarch of the see of Alexandria in the 7th century, one of the originators of monothelitism and the last Byzantine prefect of ...
for refusing to take the
Chalcedonian
Chalcedonian Christianity is the branch of Christianity that accepts and upholds theological and ecclesiological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christolo ...
profession of faith and refusing to reveal the whereabouts of Benjamin, who was himself a fugitive at that time.
Monastic years
Benjamin was noted for ascetic habits from an early age, and in 620, at the age of thirty, he took monastic vows at the monastery of
Canopus, Egypt
Canopus (, ; grc-gre, Κάνωπος, ), also known as Canobus ( grc-gre, Κάνωβος, ), was an ancient Egyptian coastal town, located in the Nile Delta. Its site is in the eastern outskirts of modern-day Alexandria, around from the cente ...
, which had avoided destruction by the Persians due to its isolated location. Benjamin further developed his asceticism in the
cenobitic
Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastery, monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a Monastic rule, religious ru ...
communities which followed the rule of
Pachomius
Pachomius (; el, Παχώμιος ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Copts, Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on ...
. It was at Canopus that Benjamin first met an older monk named Theonas, who presented Benjamin with the ''schema'' or monastic garment.
Theonas instructed Benjamin in the virtues of the monastic life, including holiness, patience, and self-control, and in the study of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
.
["Pope Benjamin I and the Islamic Conquest", Coptic Orthodox Church]
/ref> Theonas himself is said to have been particularly devoted to the Gospel of John
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
, which he went so far as to memorize.
Alexandria
One night he heard in a vision someone saying to him, "Rejoice Benjamin, you will shepherd the flock of Christ." When he told that to his spiritual father, he said to him, "The devil wants to hinder you. Beware of pride".["Departure of Abba Benjamin, the 38th Pope of Alexandria", Mission St. Clare]
/ref> Thenoas later brought Benjamin before the sitting Patriarch, Andronicus. Andronicus appreciated Benjamin's piety and ability, and took him on as a servant. He later ordained Benjamin to the priesthood, and eventually appointed him as his assistant, making Benjamin the heir presumptive to the patriarchy. In his position as assistant to the patriarch, Benjamin became acquainted with the intricacies of church affairs and within the Coptic Christian community. Benjamin became highly regarded for his work both within and without the church, which helped bring about his election to the patriarchate upon the death of Andronicus.[
Few records exist regarding the early years of Benjamin's tenure. He is known to have issued encyclicals regarding the dates of the observance of ]Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
, and instructing the clergy in doctrinal matters. He also worked to help his church through the end of Sassinid rule. Fifteen of his encyclicals from this time, all of which have been lost, were known to have been collected into a single volume, which has also been lost.
In 623 A.D. the Persians captured Egypt. The Copts were prevented from practicing their religion, and their human and national rights were denied. Nevertheless, some Copts felt relief because alien Patriarchs were no longer appointed by Byzantium to oppress the Egyptian church. However, during that era the Persians ruined and destroyed many churches and monasteries.[
The Byzantines regained control in 628. In 631, Cyrus, the Chalcedonian bishop of Phasis, was appointed by the ]Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
as both the Melkite patriarch of Egypt[ and as the prefect in command of the military forces of that province of the empire. His duties in the latter position included curbing religious separatism in the province, by persuasion if possible but by arms if necessary. Benjamin, who was Cyrus's rival in the see of Alexandria, fled the city and sought refuge in the wilderness of St. Macarius, then in Upper Egypt. When persuasion failed, Cyrus began to use force. It was during this time that Benjamin's brother Mennas joined the rebellion against the rule of Cyrus for which he was eventually executed.][ Cyrus also confiscated the property of all clerics who followed the fugitive Benjamin, and many churches in Egypt were turned over to the Melkites by force.
Cyrus's troops seized Mennas and burned him with torches until, according to ]Severus ibn al-Muqaffa
Severus ibn al-Muqaffaʿ ( ar, ساويرس بن المقفع) or Severus of El Ashmunein () (died 987) was a Coptic Orthodox Bishop, author and historian. In Arabic, his name is spelled Sawires ساويرس. Severus is sometimes confused with th ...
, ‘the fat dropped down from both his sides to the ground’. Still unshaken, his teeth were pulled out, and he was stuffed into a sack filled with sand and taken by a boat seven bowshots away from the shore. Three times he was offered his life if he accepted the Council of Chalcedon, and three times he refused, before he was thrown into the sea and drowned.
The Arab Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As
( ar, عمرو بن العاص السهمي; 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was assigned import ...
began his campaign to conquer Egypt in 639, eventually invading Alexandria itself on 17 September 642. History does not record whether the members of the Coptic church assisted the Arabs in this campaign, although it is known that they did help the Melkites. However the Syriac chronicle of Dionysius I Telmaharoyo
Dionysius I Telmaharoyo (Latin: ''Dionysius Telmaharensis'', Syriac: ܕܝܘܢܢܘܣܝܘܣ ܬܠܡܚܪܝܐ, Arabic: مار ديونيسيوس التلمحري), also known as Dionysius of Tel Mahre, was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syr ...
explicitly says that "Benjamin, the patriarch of the Orthodox in Egypt at that time, delivered the country to the Arab general ‘Amr b. al-‘As out of antipathy, that is enmity, towards Cyrus, the Chalcedonian patriarch in Egypt".[Andrew Palmer "The Seventh Century in the West Syrian Chronicles" Liverpool University Press 1993, p. 158] During this time some individuals took the opportunity to ransack and burn churches. St. Mark's Church on the seashore was plundered, as well as the churches and monasteries that were surrounding it.[ 'Amr issued a ]safe conduct
Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...
to Benjamin to return. Benjamin took some time in returning, eventually arriving at the end of 643 or the beginning of 644. Benjamin seems to have received funds from Sanutius, the ruler of Thebaid
The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan.
Pharaonic history
The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...
, for the rebuilding of the Church of St. Mark. Benjamin worked to bring back order to the affairs of the church, improve the morale of the Coptic population which had been devastated by the actions of Cyrus, and restore churches that were damaged during the recent conflict.["The Coptic Orthodox Church under Islam", The British Orthodox Church Within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch]
/ref> He then left Alexandria again, to meet with 'Amr.
In the historic meeting between these two individuals, 'Amr is quoted as having said that he had never seen such an impressive man of God as Benjamin. The exact details of the meeting between these two parties remain unknown. The meeting was however conducted with a dignity which was not witnessed during the Asian battles. At the end of the conference, 'Amr restored to Benjamin all the rights that he had been denied by the Byzantines, and recognized him as the sole representative of the Egyptian people. The Copts were however made to pay a higher tax (''gezya''). Benjamin for his part publicly prayed for 'Amr and addressed him with admiration.
Benjamin worked to restore the Coptic church by renewing some of the policies which had been put in place by his predecessor Pope Damian of Alexandria
Damian of Alexandria (died 605) was the List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria, Coptic pope and patriarch of Alexandria from 576.
Originally from Syria, where his brother was a prefect in Edessa, Mesopotamia, Edessa, he became a monk in his ...
. He also established amicable relations with 'Amr and the conquerors of Egypt. The Christian population of Egypt, however, remained divided between the Copts, Melkites, and other groups after the Arab conquest. Benjamin did however eventually prove successful in restoring a degree of unity to his fragmented population. Several Copts who had fled to the Libyan Pentapolis
A pentapolis (from Greek ''penta-'', 'five' and ''polis'', 'city') is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities. Cities in the ancient world probably formed such groups for political, commercial and military reasons, as happened ...
returned. A number of those who had left the Coptic church under duress for the Melkite church during the occupation, including the bishops Cyrus of Nikiou and Victor of Phiom, returned to the fold. He also exercised his new legal and judicial functions, even in accord with the Byzantine legal system, to the satisfaction of the new Islamic authorities.
Benjamin engaged in pontifical visitations to the dioceses and monasteries of the church, restoring properties wherever necessary. One of his more remarkable feats during this period was the recovery of the head of Saint Mark
Mark the Evangelist ( la, Marcus; grc-gre, Μᾶρκος, Mârkos; arc, ܡܪܩܘܣ, translit=Marqōs; Ge'ez: ማርቆስ; ), also known as Saint Mark, is the person who is traditionally ascribed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark. Accor ...
, which the Melkites had intended to try to smuggle back to Byzantium. The head was probably left in the sanctuary of the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great
The Monastery of Saint Macarius The Great also known as Dayr Aba Maqār ( ar, دير الأنبا مقار) is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, about north-west of Cairo, and off the highway between ...
in 645 or 647. Benjamin at the time also issued his canons to the monks of Saint Macarius.
Benjamin helped guide and comfort the Coptic community during the early days of Islamic rule. 'Amr's successor, 'Abdallah ibn Sa'd ibn Abī-al-Sarḥ ibn al-Ḥārith al-"Āmirī, demanded large amounts of money from the native Egyptian people whose resources were depleted. Benjamin's effort and intercession brought comfort to oppressed Copts.
Benjamin spent the last two years of his life encumbered by severe illness. After enduring a prolonged period of great sufferering, he died on 3 January 661.
Veneration
He is regarded as a saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
by the Coptic church, and is commemorated in the Coptic ''Synaxarion
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛⲁ ...
'' on the 8th day of Toba Toba may refer to:
Languages
* Toba Sur language, spoken in South America
* Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia
People
* Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America
* Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from ...
. Benjamin is widely celebrated for his role in guiding the Coptic church through the turmoil and upheaval of the Islamic conquest. His contemporaries' regard for him was so high that a legend was widely circulated after his death that Benjamin's soul was not only carried to heaven by angels, but also escorted by Athanasius of Alexandria
Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
, Severus of Antioch
Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians (Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyun ...
, and Theodosius I of Alexandria.
Notes
References
*Atiya, Aziz S.
Aziz Suryal Atiya ( ar, عزيز سوريال عطية, ; July 5, 1898 – September 24, 1988) was an Egyptian Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies.
Atiya was the founder of the I ...
''The Coptic Encyclopedia
The ''Coptic Encyclopedia'' is an eight-volume work covering the history, theology, language, art, architecture, archeology and hagiography of Coptic Egypt. The encyclopedia was written by over 250 Western and Egyptian contributing experts in th ...
''. New York:Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991.
Pope Benjamin I and the Islamic Conquest
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin 01 Of Alexandria, Pope
590 births
661 deaths
7th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria
Coptic Orthodox saints
7th-century Christian saints
Christians of the Rashidun Caliphate