Gabriel IV (died 1378) was the 86th Coptic Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria from 1370 until his death. Gabriel had a brother, Claudius (Iqludah), who was a priest and monk of the monastery of al-Muharraq, of which Gabriel was the abbot. He also had a married sister and a nephew, Rizqallah, who was a deacon. Gabriel was known as a great scholar and righteous ascetic. Claudius was also known for his learning; in 1388 he ordered a copy of the ''

Philokalia The ''Philokalia'' ( grc, φιλοκαλία, lit=love of the beautiful, from ''philia'' "love" and ''kallos'' "beauty") is "a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters" of the mystical hesychast trad ...

''. He was consecrated on

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

Sunday, 11

Tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

1086 AM (corresponding to 6 January 1370) in the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus in

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 ...

. His consecration at Alexanria rather than

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 ...

was unusual for the time., at 174–75. Although next to nothing is known of Gabriel's pastoral duties, he does not seem to have been unduly encumbered by the authorities. As patriarch, he visited the monasteries of the

Wadi al-Natrun Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt ...

. He imported olive oil from Syria and spiny broom from Beirut. He sent the priest Ibn al-Qudsi to Damascus to obtain a copper vessel. In 1371, Gabriel consecrated Timothy as bishop of Qasr Ibrim in

Nobadia Nobatia or Nobadia (; Greek: Νοβαδία, ''Nobadia''; Old Nubian: ⲙⲓⲅⲛ̅ ''Migin'' or ⲙⲓⲅⲓⲧⲛ︦ ⲅⲟⲩⲗ, ''Migitin Goul'' lit. "''of Nobadia's land''") was a late antique kingdom in Lower Nubia. Together with the two ...

. In 1374, Gabriel was staying at 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 ...

during a famine. In order to prolong his stay without harming the monks, he supplied his and his bishops' own provisions. That same year he took part in the consecration of the holy

chrism Chrism, also called myrrh, ''myron'', holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Anglican, Assyrian, Catholic, Nordic Lutheran, Old Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Latter Day Saint churches in ...

(''myron'') and had Athanasius of Qus compose an account of the rite. With the new ''myron'', Gabriel reconsecrated six portable altars that had been profaned, although we are not told how. He went on a circuit of several monasteries, distributing the ''myron'': the monastery of John the Little, inhabited by Ethiopians and Armenians; the

Monastery of Saint Pishoy The Monastery of Saint Pishoy (also spelled Bishoy, Pshoi, or Bishoi) in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, Egypt, is the most famous monastery of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria named after Pishoy. It is the easternmost of the four ...

, inhabited by Syrians, Ethiopians and Armenians; the monastery of Old Baramus; the monastery of Our Lady Baramus; and the monastery of John Kama. Afterwards he returned to Saint Macarius. Gabriel IV was contemporary of Al-Ashraf Nasir-ad-Din Shaban II and Al-Mansur Alah-ad-Din Ali, the

Bahri sultans Bahri ( ar, بحري) is a masculine Arabic given name, Bahri is also a surname in Punjabi Khatri families of India. Given name * Huseyin Bahri Alptekin (1957-2007), Turkish artist * Bahri Tanrıkulu (born 1980), Turkish taekwondo athlete Surnam ...

. He reigned for 8 years, 3 months and 22 days. He died on 3 Pashons 1094 AM (28 April 1378), and was buried next to

Simon the Tanner Saint Simon the Tanner ( fl. 10th century; distinct from Simon the Tanner from the New Testament, 1st century), also known as Saint Simon the Shoemaker ( cop , Ⲫⲏⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ Ⲥⲓⲙⲱⲛ Ⲡⲓⲃⲁⲕϣⲁⲣ (Ⲡⲓϩⲟⲙ, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel 04 Of Alexandria, Pope 14th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria 1378 deaths