A silent patriarch: Kyrillos VI (1902-1971): life and legacy /

A Silent Patriarch: Kyrillos VI (1902 1971) is the first scholarly biography of the desert hermit who became a most unlikely patriarch. Until now the details of his life have remained hidden. As patriarch, Kyrillos inherited a bleeding church, one confronted by political Islamism, an indifferent Muslim president, and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood. Silent in the face of persecution, mockery, and criticism, Kyrillos stood at the head of a nearly impossible spiritual revolution. But by the time he reposed, everything had changed. In this lucid biography, Daniel Fanous traces Kyrillos life from childhood, drawing upon hundreds of letters and sources never before seen, detailing Kyrillos unusual method of ecclesial reform, which speaks enduringly to the uncertainties of the present age. This is the story of Kyrillos VI, a most unlikely patriarch, a silent urban recluse. Endorsement by Pope Tawadros II Abbreviations Preface Notes Part I: A Life Hidden in God: Monastic Formation (1902–1959) 1 He Is One of Our Stock: Early Years (1902–1927) The Young Azer: Early Childhood, 1902–1912 St Menas: A Surprising Patron The Crescent and the Cross: Early-Twentieth-Century Egypt, 1912–1919 The Path to the Monastery, 1920–1927 Notes 2 Monk Mina: The Beginnings of Prayer (1927–1933) The Call to the Monastery of the Romans, 1927 Novitiate under Fr Abdel Messih el-Masudi, 1927–1928 The Birth of a Monastic Recluse, 1928–1930 Helwan Theological College: Earliest Eucharistic Reform, 1931–1933 Notes 3 The Making of a Hermit (1933–1936) Escape from the Episcopal Ranks, 1933 First Solitude at the Cave: “I Saw the Light,” 1934–1936 St Isaac the Syrian: Patristic Discipleship and an Urgent Corrective The Intriguing Story of the Seven Monks, 1936 Notes 4 The Windmill of Moqattam: An Unsuspected Thaumaturge (1936–1941) An Odd Choice of Residence: The Fated Windmill, 1936 Parrhesia and Miracles, 1936–1940 Eviction from the Mountain, 1941 Notes 5 Urban Monasticism: A Public Holy Man (1941–1959) Unwilling Abbot at the Monastery of St Samuel, 1941–1945 Habib Girgis and the Sunday School “Movement” St Menas’ Church: The Intersection of a Movement, 1946–1950 Desert as a State of Mind: An Urban Monastic, 1950–1959 Notes A Melancholic Interlude (1954–1959) 6 The Unfortunate Case of Pope Yusab II (1954–1959) Short History of a Long Conflict: The Maglis al-Melli Council Ecclesial Chaos: The Unseemly Events of July 25, 1954 Notes Part II: The Reluctant Patriarch: Reign of Pope Kyrillos VI (1959–1971) 7 The Consecration of Reform (1959) Nomination and Ordination, 1959 The Patriarch Remained a Monk Confronting an Expected Dissension (1959–1963) Beauty from Ashes: Throwing Money in the Desert Notes 8 The Healing of Enmity: Within and Without An Abrupt Solution: The Ethiopian Church and the Emperor, 1959 The Rise and Fall of the Muslim Brotherhood The Patriarch and the President, 1959–1965 The Maglis and the “Mummy’s Curse,” 1964–1967 Notes 9 Three Bishops and a Monk: A Kenotic Ecclesiology The Idea of Reform: Personal Ascetic Influence The “General Bishops”: Episcopal Innovation and Samuel, 1962–1966 At the Heated Coalface of Reform: Gregorious and Shenouda, 1967 The Leaven of Monastic Revival: Matta el-Meskeen, 1969 Postscript on Reform: The Sphere of Ascetic Influence Notes 10 A Hidden Life Made Manifest (1968–1971) Apparitions at Zeitoun, 1968 “Take Care of the Church”: Last Moments of a Saint, 1971 Notes Timeline A Note on Sources Notes Bibliography Note on Arabic Sources Primary Sources Secondary Sources Photo Insert Abbreviations Preface PART I A Life Hidden in God: Monastic Formation (1902-1959) He Is One of Our Stock: Early Years (1902-1927) Monk Mina: The Beginning of Prayer (1927-1933) The Making of a Hermit (1933-1936) The Windmill of Moqattam: An Unsuspecting Thaumaturge (1936-1941) Urban Monasticism: A Public Holy Man (1941-1959) A Melancholic Interlude (1954-1959) The Unfortunate Case of Pope Yusab II (1954-1959) PART II The Reluctant Patriarch:Reign of Pope Kyrillos VI (1959-1971) The Consecration of Reform (1959) The Healing of Enmity: Within and Without Three Bishops and a Monk: A Kenotic Ecclesiology A Hidden Life Made Manifest (1968-1971) Timeline A Note on Sources Bibliography Index Endorsement by Pope Tawadros II "Fr Daniel Fanous details the life of Pope Kyrillos, a key figure in recent Coptic history, drawing on unpublished archival materials and documents"-- Provided by publisher