From the Events of History
Scholar Bishops
The canons of the Church and the teachings of the Holy Scripture state that a bishop should be “able to teach,” not merely educated. History has recorded for us the names of many scholar bishops, including the following in the history of the Coptic Church:
1. Anba Paul of Bush:
Bishop of Egypt in the 13th century.
He authored many theological and spiritual books, the most famous of which are The Spiritual Sciences, The Teacher and the Disciple, a commentary on the Book of Revelation, and many homilies on the Lordly Feasts. He also had extensive knowledge of the ecclesiastical canons.
2. Anba Severus, Bishop of Al-Ashmunayn.
3. Anba Yusab, Bishop of Fuwah.
These two were great historians who enriched the library with their two books on The History of the Patriarchs.
4. Anba Michael (the Beautiful), Bishop of Milij.
He was the compiler of the well-known Synaxarium and authored other books as well. He lived in the 13th century.
5. Anba Peter (the Beautiful), Bishop of Milij.
In the 14th century, he completed the Synaxarium and wrote Al-Bayan in defense of Christianity, a book on The Heresies of the Sects, in which he defended Orthodoxy, and Al-Ishraq, in which he responded to the Armenians of his time.
6. Anba Yusab Al-Abbah.
Bishop of Girga and Akhmim in the 18th century. He defended Orthodoxy. Among his most famous works in this regard is The Weapon of the Believers, in which he included the beliefs of the Coptic Church and its sound teachings. He also wrote other books that he attributed to Pope Yoannis XVIII.
7. Anba John of Nikiou.
He witnessed the entry of Islam into Egypt and wrote a book on the history of that period which is regarded as an authoritative scholarly reference.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in El-Keraza Magazine, Year Eight, Issue Forty-Eight, December 2, 1977.
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