62nd patriarch of Alexandria

Severus of Al'Ashmunein (Hermopolis), History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria (1904
http://sites.google.com/site/demontortoise2000/hist6-htm


HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE
COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA
The twenty-fourth biography of the biographies of the Holy Church. Anba Abraham the Syrian, and he is the sixty-second of (their) number, (and) was known as Ibn Za‘rah 1.
When Abba Menas the patriarch went to his rest, and the Throne remained vacant, the bishops of the land of Misr, from the Rif and from the Two Sa‘ids, and the scribes of Misr and the priests of Alexandria assembled and remained for several days, but they did not find anyone whom it pleased them to advance (to the patriarchate).
There was in Misr a man, a Syrian merchant, whose name was Abraham ibn Zar‘ah. He used to give alms to the widows, the poor, the hidden and the feeble. He was an old man whose beard descended upon his breast like (that of) our father Abraham the first (patriarch). He was in great favour
1 A marginal note in red, more complete in MS. A. reads: "This father sat on the patriarchal throne during the reign of al-Mu‘izz, the first Caliph of the Fatimid dynasty. In his days, he ordered that the Christians... and the affair of the mountain is explained in this biography. May God exalt his rank and declare his sanctity and purity, and what He, God, did to him, in all the quarters of the earth".
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with the king al-Mu‘izz and the men of his State on account of his goods and of his wares which had reached (them), in which he used to deal with them. All the archons of Misr loved him and honoured him. (While) the people were assembling in the Church of the two Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus at Misr in Kasr as-Sam‘, which is the Catholic one, and (while) the hishops and the priests and the archons were assembling for the feast, Abraham ibn Zar‘ah entered to pray in the Church. Then one of the archons made a sign to one of the bishops, saying: "You are seeking for him who is fit for the patriarchate, and lo, God has sent to us him who is worthy of it". A number of those who were present heard (this), and his words pleased them, but they did not show it. Then one of his (Abraham's) friends, the archons, called him, as if he wished to speak to him about something. When he advanced and arrived in their company, they all cried out: "This is he whom the Lord has chosen". They seized him at once and put fetters of iron upon him. He cried out and wept and said: "I am not worthy of this charge". They bore him away at once and journeyed with him to Alexandria and consecrated him patriarch there.
He (Abraham) abolished simony which the patriarchs used to practise and to take dinars as a loan on it (ordination). He gave alms of all that he possessed, and he had great wealth, and his memory was honoured more than (that) of those who were before him. Al-Mu‘izz used to cause him (Abraham) to be brought to him at all times to take his opinion on what concerned him and to receive his blessing, and he asked him to live in Misr.
When he (Abraham) saw a number of the archons taking concubines and begetting children by them, he excommunicated him
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who did it. They all of them obeyed him except one high archon from among the chiefs of the Diwans, who had concubines. He did not send them away, and he disobeyed the patriarch. The father Abba Abraham the patriarch made a number of obeisances to him, but he did not obey him and continued in his evil deed, as the viper which does not hearken to the voice of the charmer, and (as one who does not take) the medicine (which) the physician prepares. Then the patriarch rode and went to his house that he might speak with him, and he said within himself: "Perhaps, if I go to him he will have respect before me". When they informed him (the archon) that the patriarch was coming to him, he shut the door of his house. When the patriarch reached the door, he stood and knocked at it for
two hours, but no one answered him a word. Then he excommunicated
him (the archon) and shook off (the dust from) his feet on the threshold
which was of flint-stone, and it was divided in twain, and this miracle was manifested to the people, and all those who were in Misr feared the patriarch. After a few days that archon perished with all that he possessed.
The wazir of the king al-Mu‘izz was a Jewish man whose name was Bu Jacob ibn Killis, and he came with him (al-Mu‘izz) from the West and had embraced Al-Islam at his hands. The wazir had a Jewish friend whose name was Moses. He was accorded great fortune by al-Mu‘izz on account of his friendship for his wazir. When he saw the love of the king for the patriarch and the access (which he had) to him (al-Mu‘izz), he envied him and took counsel against him. He said to Al-Mu‘izz: "I desire that you shouldst cause the patriarch of the Christians to be brought that I may dispute with him before you so that he may expose to you his religion". Al-Mu‘izz did not confront the patriarch with this and he did not expose him to a disputation with the Jew, but he said to him: "If you see (fit) to summon one of your sons,
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the bishops, that he may dispute with the Jew, do (so)". They arranged between themselves a certain day on which their meeting should be, and there was present among all the bishops a saintly, virtuous bishop of al-Ashmunain, called Severus (Sawirus) and known as Ibn al-Mukaffa‘ 2. He had been a scribe and then he became bishop, and the Lord had bestowed upon him grace and power in the Arabic tongue, so that he wrote many books and mimars and controversies. He who read his books recognised his excellence and the soundness of his knowledge. He (Severus) disputed many times with the kadis of the Muslim elders by the order of the king al-Mu‘izz, and he overcame them through the power of God and His grace.
It happened that he (Severus) was sitting with the Supreme Kadi, (and) lo, a dog passed by them. It was a Friday and there were a number of witnesses there. The Supreme Kadi said to him: "What sayest you, O Severus, concerning this dog? Is it Christian or Muslim?" He said: "Ask it, and it will answer you itself". The Kadi said to him: "Does a dog speak? We wish you to tell us". He (Severus) said: "Yes. It is necessary for us to test this dog. It (happens) that to-day is Friday on which the Christians fast and do not eat meat, and when they break (their) fast in the evening, they drink nabidh, but the Muslims do not fast on it (Friday) and do not drink nabidh on it, but eat meat on it. Put before it (the dog) meat and nabldh, and if it eats the meat, it will be Muslim, and if it does not eat it, but drinks the nabidh, then it will be Christian". When they heard his words, they marvelled at his wisdom and at the strength of his answer, and they departed from him.
The patriarch Abba Abraham took this bishop on the day on which his attendance in the presence of the king al-Mu‘izz had been fixed, and he went with him to the palace. Moses the Jew
2 A famous Coptic theologian.
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and the wazir Ibn Killis were present, and they sat for a long time silent. Then the king al-Mu‘izz said to them: "Speak concerning that for which you are assembled. Then he said: "Speak, O patriarch, and tell your deputy to say what he has (to say)". The patriarch said to the bishop: "Speak, O my son, and God will assist you". The bishop said to the king: "It is not lawful to converse with a man (who is) a Jew in the presence of the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful". The Jew said to him: "You slander me and say in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful and his wazir that I am ignorant". The bishop Abba Severus said to him: "If the truth be made manifest to the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful, will there not be anger at this?" The king al-Mu‘izz said: "It is not allowed that anyone should become angry in the disputation, but it is requisite for those who dispute that everyone of them should say what he has (to say) and to set forth his argument as he wishes". The bishop said: "It is not I (who) bear witness against you, O Jew, with regard to ignorance, but a great and illustrious prophet from God (who) has witnessed against you with regard to this". The Jew said to him: "Who is the prophet?" He (Severus) said to him: "He is Isaiah who says in the beginning of his book concerning God: "The ox has known its owner, and the ass has known the manger of its master, but Israel has not known Me'". The king al-Mu‘izz said to Moses: "Is not this correct?" He said: "Yes. This is what is written". Then the bishop said: "Has not God said, indeed, that the beasts are more intelligent than you. It is not lawful for me to converse in the council of the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful---may his might endure---with him (the Jew), (for) the beasts are more rational than he, and God, indeed, has attributed to him ignorance". The king al-Mu‘izz marvelled at this and commanded them to depart.
Enmity became great between the two parties. The wrath of the wazir waxed strong and he began to seek for a pitfall for the patriarch, because he had confounded the Jews in the presence of
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the king al-Mu‘izz, but the Lord Christ protects His elect and His servants. It happened after some days that he found a way (to have) an audience to say to al-Mu‘izz: "It is written in the Gospel of the Christians: 'If one has faith as a grain of mustard-seed, and he says to the mountain: Be you removed and be you cast into the sea, it shall be done.' Let the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful see his way to ask them to prove the truth of this saying, so that he may know that they are frauds and are liars. If they do not do (this), it is requisite that there should be done to them what they deserve on account of their lie". He approved of this word. The king al-Mu‘izz sent to summon Abba Abraham and said to him: "What say you concerning this word? Is it in your Gospel or not?" The patriarch said: "Yes. It is in it". He (al-Mu‘izz) said to him: "Lo, you Christians are thousands and tens of thousands in this land, and I desire to be brought to me one of them that this miracle may be manifested at his hands; and you, O chief of them, it is requisite that this deed should be (done) by you, otherwise, I shall destroy you with the sword". Then the patriarch was astounded, and great fear came upon him and he did not know what to answer to him (al-Mu‘izz), but God the Exalted inspired him to say to him: "Grant me a delay of three days, so that I may seek and beseech the Lord---His name be magnified---to render the heart of the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful favourable to his slaves". He granted to him the delay.
He (Abraham) returned to his dwelling-place in Misr and he caused to be brought (to him) the priests and the archons of Misr and all the Orthodox people, and weeping he made known to them the matter. There were in Misr a number of monks of Wadi Habib, and he (Abraham) imposed upon them all a penance that none of them should go to his dwelling-place for three days, but that they should assemble to continue in prayer in the church night and day. They did this for the three days and nights. As to the patriarch, he did not break his fast during them (the three days) at all.
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Some of them (the monks) broke their fast once every night with bread and salt and a little water. Abba Abraham, the patriarch, did not cease to stand weeping before God on account of it during those days and nights until there did not remain in him any movement.
This blessed gathering took place in the Church of the Mistress in Kasr as-Sam‘ known as the Mu‘allakah. When it was the morning of the third day, the saintly patriarch fell to the ground from grief of heart and from his fasting and his weariness, and he slept for a while. He saw the Lady, the Pure Mistress, Mary and she said to him with a joyful face: "What is it that has befallen you?" He said to her: "Do you not know, O my Lady, that the king of this land has said to me: 'If you do not show to me a miracle this day in the mountain, I shall kill all the inhabitants of the Christian Religion in the land of Misr, and I shall destroy them from out of my kingdom with the sword". The Mistress said to him: "Fear not, for I will not overlook the tears which you have shed in this church of mine. Rise now, and descend from here and go out by the door of the Darb al-Hadid which leads to the Great Market. As you goest out you will find a man (carrying) on his shoulder a jar full of water ---his mark is that he is one-eyed---seize him, for he it is at whose hands
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this miracle shall be manifested". The patriarch awoke at once and he was afraid. It was still dark, and he arose in haste and did not let anyone know of him till he reached the door and found it closed. He doubted in his heart and said: "I believe that Satan has played a trick upon me". He called the door-keeper, and he opened (the door) for him. The first who entered by the door was the man about whom he was told. He seized him and said to him with an obeisance for the Lord's sake: "Have pity upon this people". Then he informed him of the reason for their meeting. The man said to him: "Forgive me, for I am a sinner, and I have not reached this degree". Thereupon, the patriarch informed him of what the Pure Mistress had told him, when she appeared to him. Then he said to him: "What is your business?" He (the man) wished to hide from him his case. He (Abraham) solemnly charged him and bound him under (pain of) anathema not to hide from him anything of his case. Then he said to him: "O my father, I will inform you of my case. I am a man, a tanner, and this eye which you seest, I plucked it out on account of the commandment of the Lord, when I beheld what was not mine with lust, and saw that I was going to Hell on account of it. I considered and said: 'It is better for me to go into life with one eye, as the Lord Christ says: It is better (etc.), than that I should go to Hell with two eyes'. I am (living) in this place (as) a hired worker to a man (who is) a tanner. I do not have over from what (I receive) from my work every day (anything) except a bread to eat, and the remainder is for the destitute hidden of the brethren, women and men. This water I give them to drink every day before I go to my work. I take it to the poor people among them who have not the money to buy it from the water-carrier. All
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the day I work in the tannery and at night I stand praying. This is the state of my case, and I ask you, O my father, not to make it known to anyone, for I have not the power to endure the praise of men, but that which I shall say to you, do (it). Go out with your priests and all your people to the mountain concerning which the king told you, (having) with you gospels, crosses, censers and large candles. Let the king stand with his soldiers and his troops on one side, and you and your people, on one side, and I, behind you, will stand in the midst of the people, so that no one may recognize me. Then read you and your priests and cry aloud, saying: 'O Lord, have mercy' for a long time. Then command them to be silent and (to keep) quiet, and you shall prostrate yourself and all who are with you shall prostrate themselves, and I will prostrate myself with you. and without that anyone recognizes me. Do thus three times, and every time that you shall prostrate yourself and stand up (again) you shall make (the sign of) the cross over the mountain, and you shall see the glory of God". When he (the man) had said this word, the heart of the patriarch was reassured by what he heard from him. Then he (Abraham) rose up and all the people with him, and they went up to the king and said to him: "Go out to the mountain". He (al-Mu‘izz) commanded all his army and those who were attached to him and the notables of his State to go out, and that trumpets should be sounded. The king went out and his wazir with him, and he ordered that disbelieving Moses to go out. The father, the patriarch, did as that Saint had said to him. The king al-Mu‘izz and his companions stood on one side and all the Christians and the patriarch, on the other side, and the man stood behind the patriarch, and there was none among the assembly who recognized him, except the patriarch alone, and they cried out 'O Lord, have mercy' many times. Then he (Abraham) commanded them to be silent and he prostrated himself upon the ground and all (who were) with him prostrated themselves three times, and every time that he lifted up his face and made (the sign of) the cross, the mountain was lifted up from the ground. When they prostrated themselves,
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the mountain came down to its base. The king al-Mu‘izz feared greatly
and the king and the Muslims cried out: "God is great. There is no
God besides You!" Then the king al-Mu‘izz said to the patriarch
after the third time: "Enough, O patriarch, I have recognized, indeed,
the correctness of your faith". When the people had become calm, the
patriarch turned to look for the saintly man, but he did not find him.
Then the king said to the patriarch Abba Abraham:
"Desire of me something (and) I will do it for you". He (Abraham)
said to him: "I desire nothing, save that God may strengthen your State
and give you victory over your enemies". He (al-Mu‘izz) said to him:
"Desire (of me something), O patriarch". He repeated to him the
speech three times. Then the king al-Mu‘izz said to him: "It is necessary
that you desire of me something". The patriarch said to him: "If
it be necessary, then I will ask our lord to command, if it be possible,
to be built a church of Abba Mercurius at Misr":
since it happened, when they had demolished it, that they did not allow
them (the Christians) to restore it, and it has been turned into a store
house for sugar-cane; and likewise the Mu‘allakah
in Misr in Kasr as-Sam‘, since a great part of its walls had fallen
down and part of them was in a state of decay. He (Abraham) also
asked permission to restore it (the Mu‘allakah). He (al-Mu‘izz) ordered
at once that a decree should be written for him giving him the
power (to do) this, and he gave to him from the Treasury what he would
have to spend on the restoration. He (Abraham) took the decree,
but he returned the money and said to the king al-Mu‘izz:
"May the Lord strengthen your kingdom, but the Treasury has more
right to this money". When the decree was read at the Church
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of Abba Mercurius, the sellers who were there and the dregs of the people assembled and said: "If we are all slain with one sword, we shall not allow anyone to place (one) stone upon (one) stone in this church". Then the patriarch returned to the king al-Mu‘izz with the news. He (al-Mu‘izz) became wrathful at this, and he rode at once with all bis troops till he came to the place, and he halted and commanded the foundations to be dug. They were promptly dug and a large number of masons were assembled for it (the rebuilding) and stones were carried to it (the site) from every place by the order of the king al-Mu‘izz, and they (began to) build them (the foundations) at once. No one dared to say a word except an elder who used (to lead) in the prayers for those sellers in the mosque which was there. He it was who used to assemble the congregation and presided over them. He threw himself into the foundations and said: "I desire to die to-day for the Name of God and not to let anyone build this church". When the king al-Mu‘izz was informed of this, he commanded that stones should be thrown upon him and that they should build over him. When lime and stones were thrown upon him, he wished to stand up, but the assistants did not allow him (to do so), since al-Mu‘izz had commanded that he should be buried in the foundations into which he had thrown himself. When the patriarch saw this, he dismounted from his beast and threw himself before al-Mu‘izz and besought him on behalf of him (the elder) until he (al-Mu‘izz) commanded that he should be got up from the foundations. It was with difficulty that he managed to escape from them (the foundations) safe, after he had almost died.
The king al-Mu‘izz returned to his palace, and no one dared after that to say a single word till the rebuilding of the church had been completed, and likewise (that of) the Church al-Mu‘allakah at Kasr as-Sam‘ and he (the patriarch) (re)built all the churches which were in need of restoration. No one opposed him (the patriarch) in anything of this (affair). He (re)built likewise many places in the churches at
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Alexandria which had become weakened, and he spent on this a great (deal) of money, and was not able to pay to the Alexandrians the thousand dinars which had been agreed upon for them for the expenses of their churches, and after many demands it was agreed upon that he should give to them each year five hundred dinars.
The duration of the occupation by this patriarch, Abba Abraham, of the Throne was three years and six months, and he went to his rest with his saintly fathers.
It is said that one of the archons, known as Abi‘s-Surur al-Kabir, who had influence in the State, possessed many concubines. He (Abraham) commanded him to send them away, but he did not (do so). Then he excommunicated him and forbade him the Eucharist. He acted craftily in that he gave to him (Abraham) a drink to drink 2 and killed him. He went to the Lord in peace, and the people wept over him.
There was a prophecy concerning his advancement (to the patriarchate). It (happened) that when he was a layman, he went to the Monastery of Abba Macarius in Wadi Habib to pray there. He went to the Caves to receive the blessings from the anchorites. He met one of them, and with him there were two of his companions. That saintly anchorite blessed him and seized him by his hand and took him aside and said: "O my brother, lo, I see a great rock suspended above you and it is descending upon you". He (Abraham) did not understand the meaning of his saying that day, and that he (the anchorite) signified to him thereby the greatness of the majesty of the patriarchate which he merited from God.
When the kingdom of Misr fell to al-Mu‘izz, as we have said above, Abba Menas the patriarch lived during some of his days
2 i. e. poisoned him.
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under the rule of Gawhar, and Ahha Ahraham (came) after him. "Whenever al-Mu‘izz wished to do anything according to his custom in the West, Gawhar prevented him with gentleness and diplomacy, and said that the inhabitants of Misr are a people in whom there is cunning and sagacity, and that nothing is hidden from them, and it is as if they have knowledge of that which is invisible. He (al-Mu‘izz) said to him one day: "O Gawhar, if what has been said about the sagacity of the Cairenes (al-Masriyin) is correct, then I wish to test them". Then he commanded them to take a large roll of paper similar to (that of) a decree, and that it should be rolled up without being written upon and sealed. When it was brought, he delivered it to the scribe and he inscribed upon it the name of the king al-Mu‘izz, and he (al-Mu‘izz) commanded that a trumpet should be sounded before him (the bearer) and that a public crier should proclaim among the people that they should come to hear the decree of the king, and he commanded that spies should walk behind him (the public crier) and listen to what the inhabitants of Misr said. This was done, and they heard some of the people say: "Let us go to hear the decree of the king", but some of them said: "Do not trouble yourselves. There is nothing in it; it is blank". Then they (the spies) returned and informed him (al-Mu‘izz), and he marvelled at this exceedingly.
At the beginning of the pontificate of Abba Abraham the patriarch, the wazir in Misr was the aforesaid Abu '1-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas. He was a pious man and a virgin. He had never married, and it had not been heard concerning him that he had (known) the follies of youth. He acted well towards all men and he was praised by everyone. He was accorded favour and love by al-Mu‘izz on account of his good manner of life and intention(s) and of the strength of his faith. He (al-Mu‘izz) used to accept his words and his counsel, and he appointed him mutawalli for collecting the tax on the wealth of Misr. He continued thus until Abba Abraham became patriarch.
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When Jacob ibn Killis the wazir saw the access (which) Abu '1-Yumn had to al-Mu‘izz, he envied him and feared that he would make him wazir in his stead. He counselled al-Mu‘izz and said to him: "It is good to send Cosmas ibn Menas to the districts of Palestine to direct them, since he is a trustworthy man". His object was to remove him from al-Mu‘izz. Then he (al-Mu‘izz) sent him to Palestine. When he arrived there and took charge of it, he exacted from it and from its districts two hundred thousand dinars.
Then a heretic from the lands of the East arose, known as the Karmati 1. He took possession of all the lands of Syria till he reached the districts of Palestine. When news of him reached Cosmas ibn Menas, he took the money which he had obtained and went with it to a monastery on the top of Mount Tabor and he delivered it to the Superior of the monastery and placed it as a deposit with him in order that he might guard it, and he returned to his work. When the Karmati 1 reached him, he said to him: "Fear not, for no evil shall happen to you from me, and I will make you to be a friend to me as you wast to al-Mu‘izz", and he made a pact with him thereon. Then those who held rank wrote to al-Mu‘izz about this, that Abu 'l-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas had come to an agreement with the Karmati and had made peace with him. When the wazir was informed of this, he found the means to remember him with evil, and he said to al-Mu‘izz: "This is Cosmas ibn Menas of whom you say that he is trustworthy and faithful. He has made peace with your enemy and has delivered to him the two hundred thousand dinars which he exacted from your lands, in order that he might strengthen him thereby against you". Al-Mu‘izz became wrathful and sent and seized all his (Cosmas') people and plundered their possessions and cast them into prison. When
1 On the Karmati (Carmathians) cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 94. The person in question was Hasan b. Abmad, surnamed al-A‘sam, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., pp. 105, 118.
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the Karmati reached Misr, al-Mu‘izz went out to fight against him and routed him and slew him.
Cosmas ibn Menas wrote to al-Mu‘izz (and) informed him of what had occurred with the Karmati and how he had gone to meet him so that he might be saved from him, and that he had saved the two hundred thousand dinars. Al-Mu‘izz took vengeance on the wazir ibn Killis and seized him and slew him 3, and he sent to summon Cosmas ibn Menas the pious, virtuous one. He arrived and the money with him. He (al-Mu‘izz) put on him a robe of honour and received him with hospitality after he had released all his money and people and had returned to them all their possessions which had been taken away.
Cosmas ibn Menas had acquired before his journey to Palestine ninety thousand dinars. When he wished to journey, he delivered it (the money) to Abba Abraham, the patriarch, and said to him: "If you hearest that I have died, then spend it for the salvation of my soul on the churches, the hidden, the destitute and the captives. If I return, then I shall take my money". When he (Cosmas) had returned to Misr and his case had been settled with al-Mu‘izz, he asked the patriarch for the ninety thousand dinars. He (Abraham) said to him: "I heard of what happened to you in Syria and I thought that you would not return here on account of what had happened to your people, and I feared that reports of the money would reach al-Mu‘izz and that he would take it and that nothing of it would remain for you and that (it would be) of no advantage (to you) in the next world, and I spent it on what you commanded me to". He (Cosmas) did not say to him a word (about this), or on what did you spend my money, but he said to him: "O my father, you did well for me and performed a good action and mercy on my
3 N. B. Ibn Killis died in A. D. 981 in the reign of al-‘Aziz, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 121. 11
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behalf, since you distributed my money among those in need and did not leave it for the king".
When Abba Abraham went to his rest, after he had remained for three years and a half (on the Throne), nothing of the ninety thousand dinars was left to him nor a single dirham of the great wealth which he himself had possessed, but he had spent all of this on (re)building his churches and on alms and on what was pleasing to God---praised be He! He became as father Abraham the first (patriarch) in his deeds which were pleasing (to God), and he was numbered with the righteous in the Kingdom of God.
May the Lord have mercy upon us through his prayer and through the prayer of all who have pleased Him by their deeds. Glory be to God for ever and ever eternally!