Kirello IV of Alexandria

Kirellos IV. Or Kyrillos IV. (* 1816 ; † 1861 ) was the 110th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark ( Coptic Church ).

He is known as the founder of the Coptic Reformation. He built many modern schools. The first was the Coptic College near the cathedral, which was one of the first modern Egyptian schools. Arabic, English, French, Turkish and Italian were taught here. He attended the classes frequently and participated in the discussions. Many foreign friends visited the quorum, and their suggestions were often put into practice. He established the first Egyptian girls' school and the Coptic trade school. His school was actively copied, which soon resulted in Coptic schools all over Egypt, in which the students were taught in other religions, but also in their own. He imported the second Egyptian printing press, the first owned by the government. He picked up the printing press at the Cairo train station, accompanied by priests and deacons. All wore ecclesiastical robes, thereby attesting to an extraordinary honor for the printed word. He did a lot for the reformation of monastic life, canon law and family life . He caused z. B. that the bride and groom had to confess and take an oath before marriage. Because of the many reforms he carried out, he is known as the Father of Reform (Abû al-Islâh).

In his relations with other churches he showed a pioneering spirit in ecumenism . He created such a level of genuine and mutual understanding with the Greek and Russian churches that the contemporary Greek patriarch left the Greek Orthodox Church in his care during his long absence. Both retired to the St. Antonius Monastery for a while for a life together and a time to prepare.

swell

1. ↑ See Wolfram Reiss, article "Kyrill IV." In: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 4th ed., Bd. 4 (IK), Tübingen 2001, 1920f.

literature

• Paul Verghese (Ed.): The Churches of the World Volume XII, Coptic Christianity . Evangelisches Verlagswerk, Stuttgart 1973, pages 77-78, ISBN 3-7715-0151-2
• Mounir Shoucri: Cyril IV . In: The Coptic Encyclopedia . Volume 3, Macmillan, New York 1991
• Wolfram Reiss : Art. "Kyrill IV." in: Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 4th edition, vol. 4 (I – K), Tübingen 2001, column 1920f, ISBN 978-3-16-149514-4

predecessor	Office	successor
Peter VII	Coptic Pope 1854–1861	Dimitrios II