Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria
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Saint Benjamin I of Alexandria |
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|---|---|
| 38th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark | |
| Papacy began | 623 |
| Papacy ended | 16 January 662 |
| Predecessor | Andronicus |
| Successor | Agathon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barshüt, Beheira Governorate, Egypt |
| Died | 16 January 662 |
| Buried | Saint Mark's Church |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Denomination | Coptic Orthodox Christian |
| Residence | Saint Mark's Church |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 16 January (8 Toba in the Coptic Calendar) |
Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria, 38th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. He is regarded as one of the greatest patriarchs of the Coptic Church. Benjamin guided the Coptic church through a period of turmoil in Egyptian history that included the fall of Egypt to the Sassanid Empire, followed by Egypt's reconquest under the Byzantines, and finally the Arab Islamic Conquest in 642. After the Arab conquest Pope Benjamin, who was in exile, was allowed to return to Alexandria and resume the patriarchate.
He was born around 590 in Barshüt, in the Beheira region of the western Nile Delta area. Comparatively little is known about his early life, other than that he came from a Coptic family of comfortable means. The proximity of his home to the capital city of Alexandria has led some to assume that he received some education there.
No details on his family life are known, other than that he had one brother, Mennas. Mennas is known for having been tortured with fire and, eventually, being drowned in the Nile by the Monothelite/Monophysite Patriarch Cyrus of Alexandria for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of Benjamin, who was himself a fugitive at that time.
Benjamin was noted for ascetic habits from an early age, and in 620, at the age of thirty, he took monastic vows at the monastery of Canopus, Egypt, which had avoided destruction by the Persians due to its isolated location. Benjamin further developed his asceticism in the cenobitic communities which followed the rule of Pachomius. It was at Canopus that Benjamin first met an older monk named Theonas, who presented Benjamin with the schema or monastic garment. Theonas instructed Benjamin in the virtues of the monastic life, including holiness, patience, and self-control, and in the study of the Bible. Theonas himself is said to have been particularly devoted to the Gospel of John, which he went so far as to memorize.
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