Pope Cyril II of Alexandria, 67th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. Patriarch Cyril attempted to ordain a properly consecrated

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

to be the new '' Abuna'' of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but

Badr al-Jamali Abū'l-Najm Badr ibn ʿAbdallāh al-Jamālī al-Mustanṣirī, better known as Badr al-Jamali ( ar, بدر الجمالى) was an Armenian Shia Muslim Fatimid vizier, and prominent statesman for the Fatimid Caliphate under Caliph al-Mustansir. H ...

, the

Vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Al-Mustansir, forced him to ordain instead Abuna Sawiros. Although at first warmly welcomed when he reached

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, the Caliph's candidate began to openly favor Islam in that Christian country by building seven mosques, ostensibly for the use of Muslim traders. This led to a general uproar in Ethiopia. Abuna Sawiros justified his acts by saying a refusal to build these mosques would result in a persecution in

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 Medit ...

; nevertheless, the Abuna was imprisoned, the seven mosques destroyed, and restrictions placed on the Muslim traders. Reciprocal acts followed in Egypt, and a rupture in the relations between the two countries.

Sainthood

There had been a leadership dispute upon the selection of St. Cyril II as patriarch. According to the Coptic Church, a council of forty-seven bishops was assembled to depose him, and supported by a Muslim overseer of an orchard called Yaseeb. According to the Coptic Church, the Pope told the overseer 'If the Governor has authority, Christ has authority over the heaven and earth.' then dismounted his horse and made a matonia before him. Because of the Pope's words, it is claimed, the governor became enraged with the overseer, and beheaded him at the same place and at the same time as the matonia had been performed. This supposedly prevented a split in the church, and St. Cyril II and the dissenting bishops were reconciled.http://www.copticchurch.net/classes/synex.php?month=10&day=12&btn=View&lang= Lives of Saints Paona 12 3. The Departure of St. Kyrillos the Second, the 67th Pope of Alexandria.

Notes

11th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria {{OrientalOrthodox-clergy-stub