Pope Gabriel VII of Alexandria

Saint
Gabriel VII of Alexandria
95th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
Papacy began 1525
Papacy ended 1570
Predecessor John XIII
Successor John XIV
Personal details
Born Manfalout, Egypt
Died 1570
Egypt
Buried Saint Mercurius Church in Coptic Cairo
Nationality Egyptian
Denomination Coptic Orthodox Christian
Residence Church of the Virgin Mary (Haret Zuweila)
Sainthood
Feast day (10 Epip in the Coptic Calendar)
Papal styles of
Saint Gabriel VII
Reference style His Holiness
Spoken style Your Holiness
Religious style Pope and Patriarch
Posthumous style Saint

Pope Gabriel VII of Alexandria (Anda Gabriel VII) was the 95th Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.

He was born in the area around the monastery of El-Mouharraq, and at a young age he became a monk in the wilderness at the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great. Known for his good conduct and great holiness, he was ordained Patriarch in 1525 A.D. following the death of Pope John XIII. Gabriel's patriarchate witnessed the early years of Ottoman rule in Egypt.

Gabriel was patriarch for more than forty years. Some of his important accomplishments were the renovation of the monasteries of Saint Anthony, and Saint Paul, the first hermit, in the Eastern desert, and the monastery of El-Mouharraq in Upper Egypt.

Some people in authority asked him to approve things against the welfare of his flock. The Pope chose to leave his Chair and he went to the Monastery of Saint Anthony, for he desired to keep what the Lord said: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) The Lord examined him but he endured thankfully, and received the blessing that the Lord gave for those persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Pope Gabriel died in 1570 following a brief illness.

References

    General
    Oriental Orthodox titles
    Preceded by
    John XIII
    Coptic Pope
    1525–1570
    Succeeded by
    John XIV


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