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 ...

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 A ...

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 of mo ...

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 List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

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