Pope Mark VI of Alexandria (Abba Marcos VI),
101st Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.
Pope Mark evidently entertained the Syrian Bishop
Ahatallah Ahatallah (1590 – c. 1655) was a Syrian bishop chiefly known for his trip to India in 1652. His mysterious appearance in, and disappearance from Portuguese India caused a great uproar there, and resulted directly in a revolt by the Saint Thomas Ch ...
for some time during his papacy. Bishop Ahatallah was in Cairo when Pope Pope Mark received a letter from
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
,
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
of the
Saint Thomas Christian
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...
community of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
asking for a new bishop in the face of Portuguese dominance. Unable or unwilling to send someone from his own church, Pope Mark evidently suggested that Bishop Ahatallah go to India instead.
[Neill, p. 319.]
Notes
References
*
17th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria
1656 deaths
{{OrientalOrthodox-clergy-stub