Yusab II

Yusab II

Yusab II. (Yousab II .; † November 14, 1956 ) was the 115th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark ( Coptic Orthodox Church ).

Life

Before assuming the highest office in his church, Yusab was Metropolitan of Girga. He built a new large building for the library of the patriarchate as well as a magnificent residence for the metropolitans and had the St. Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria rebuilt. In 1950 he released the Ethiopian Church into independence .

He was the last of three patriarchs elected from among the bishops. Serious unrest broke out in the Coptic Church during his pontificate. The corruption , particularly in offices awarding reached hitherto unknown dimensions. The valet and secretary Malik, who is said to have sold more than a dozen bishop's chairs, was considered to be the key figure of the Pope, who was characterized as weak in making decisions. Finally, in 1954, a group of young radicals, the Coptic Nation, called for the Pope's resignation. When there was no reaction, he was kidnapped in a taxi by some critics on July 25, 1954. Although the police were able to free him, his reputation was irretrievably lost. On September 21, 1955, shortly after a failed assassination attempt, the Pope was finally deposed and banished to a monastery, where he died in 1956.

His successor Kirellos VI. was not selected from among the monks until 1959. This reassured church members, who viewed this as a return to church traditions.

literature

• Paul Verghese (ed.): The churches of the world. Volume XII. Coptic Christianity. Evangelisches Verlagswerk, Stuttgart 1973, ISBN 3-7715-0151-2 .
• Hagai Erlikh: The cross and the river: Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Nile. Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc., Boulder, Colorado 2002, pp. 136-137.
• Otto Friedrich August Meinardus : Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity. American University in Cairo Press, ISBN 9774247574 , p. 77.

predecessor	Office	successor
Macarius III	Coptic Pope 1946–1956	Kirello VI