Pope Mark VIII of Alexandria (Abba Marcos VIII), 108th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. He was born in the town of Tama, in the district of Girga in Upper Egypt. His birth name was John. He became a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

in the

Monastery of Saint Anthony The Monastery of Saint Anthony is a Coptic Orthodox monastery standing in an oasis in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, in the southern part of the Suez Governorate. Hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains, it is located southeast of Cairo. The Monas ...

near the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

. When his predecessor, Abba Yoannis, the 107th Patriarch departed, the papal seat remained vacant for four months, then this father was chosen as a patriarch and ordained on 2 October 1796 AD (24 Thout 1513 AM) He lived through Three forms of governments 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 Mediter ...

: first under Ottoman governors of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, then the

French Invasion of Egypt The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the ...

(1797- 1801 AD), two years after his ordination, then the Ottomans returned again in 1801. He consecrated the new

Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral is a Coptic church located in the Abbassia District in Cairo, Egypt. The cathedral is the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope. It was built during the time when Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria was Pope of the Coptic ...

in Azbakeya in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

that was built by Al-Moallim

Ibrahim El-Gohary Ibrahim El-Gohary (, ar, إبراهيم الجوهري, died 31 May 1795) was Egypt's chief scribe and prime minister during the second half of the 18th century. Biography Ibrahim El-Gohary was born to poor Copts in Egypt, Coptic Christian parent ...

and moved the Seat of the Coptic Pope to this cathedral in 1800.shababchristian
/ref> from

Saint Mary Church (Haret Elroum) Saint Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Haret el-Roum () or the Church of the Virgin of Relief ( ar, كنيسة العذراء المغيثة, Kanīsat al-ʿAdhrāʾ al-Mughītha) is a Coptic Orthodox church in al-Ghūrīya, Cairo near the Convent of ...

. In his days, there were many unfortunate situations and grievances against the church and the Copts, including the burning of the upper and lower churches in Haret Elroum. Pope Mark VIII of Alexandria departed on 21 December 1809. He remained on his episcopal seat 13 years, 2 months, and 19 days. The papal seat remained vacant for three days after his departure.

References

Mark VIII of Alexandria 1809 deaths Year of birth unknown 19th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria {{OrientalOrthodox-clergy-stub