Synaxarium

On this day is the commemoration of the consecration of the church of Saint Agabus, one of the seventy apostles, who prophesied what happened to Saint Paul the Apostle (Acts 21:10-11). May his prayer be with us. Amen.

On this day, the Church commemorates the consecration of the first church built by the Jacobite Christians (possibly referring to the Syrians residing in Egypt) for Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, one of the Fathers of the Council of Nicaea, the three hundred and eighteenth. It was built in the church named after Saint Anba Shenouda, east of the sea. May his prayer be with us. Amen.

On this day, Saint Alexandra the Queen, wife of King Diocletian, departed. When the great martyr Saint George deceived King Diocletian by pretending he would worship his gods before his execution, he was brought into the king’s palace. Saint George prayed, then read a portion of the Psalms before the queen and explained what he read to her. He then clarified the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and his words entered her heart, and she believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious. When Saint George stood before the idols and called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the idols were shattered, bringing shame upon the king and those with him. When he returned to his palace and informed the queen of this, she said to him: “Did I not tell you not to oppose the Galileans, for their God is mighty?” The king became very angry, tortured her severely, then cast her into prison where she peacefully departed. May her prayer be with us. Amen.

On this day in the year 1372 A.M. (April 20, 1656 A.D.), Pope Mark VI, the 101st Patriarch of Alexandria, departed. He was known as Mark the Behgoury because he was from Behgoura and was a monk at the Monastery of Saint Anthony. When Pope Matthew II, the 100th Patriarch, passed away, the teacher Bishara, the leading archon of that era, along with a group of Egyptians, agreed to ordain this father. The ordination ceremony was presided over by Anba Christodoulos, Bishop of Jerusalem, on Sunday, 15 Parmouti, 1362 A.M. (April 20, 1646 A.D.). Mark VI was called and after his ordination, a great dispute arose between him and teacher Bishara.

Among the notable acts of this pope was issuing an order to the monks forbidding them from residing in the world and commanding them all to return to their monasteries. The monks were angered by this order, refused to comply, and rebelled against it. The devil, enemy of good, stirred one monk named Qudsi to file a complaint against the patriarch to the pasha, claiming that he was beating people with a stick and killing them. The governor took the complaint seriously and ordered an investigation. Upon inquiry, the monk denied the accusation, and the patriarch’s innocence was proven. However, he was fined, a penalty paid on his behalf by the state dignitaries. On 21 Toba, 1365 A.M., it was decreed that Christians should not ride horses, wear red caftans, red woolen caps, or ride carriages, but instead wear blue caftans twenty cubits long.

The patriarch traveled to Upper Egypt and stayed there for four years, during which he collected a large sum of money. He was very foolish, causing all people, bishops, priests, and archons to complain about his deeds. The enmity between him and teacher Bishara continued until he returned to Egypt, reconciled with him, and his affairs were set right thereafter. Among his works was building a prayer hall at the nuns’ monastery in the Church of the Virgin in Haret Zuweila. He discovered five glass vessels filled with the holy myrrh and also found two other jars, relics from ancient times, which he placed in the upper storeroom above the tomb of Pope Younan XIII, the 94th Patriarch, in the Church of the Virgin in Haret Zuweila.

This pope departed on 15 Parmouti, 1272 A.M. (April 20, 1656 A.D.) and was buried in the Church of Abu Sefein in Old Cairo after serving on the throne for ten full years. He lived during the reigns of Sultan Ibrahim I and Sultan Muhammad IV. The throne remained vacant for four years, seven months, and sixteen days after him. May God benefit us by his blessings, and to our Lord be glory forever. Amen.