The Departure of Pope Yoannis the Eighteenth, the 107th . Pope of Alexandria .

On this day also, the church celebrates the departure of Pope Yoannis (John) the Eighteenth, the107th Pope of Alexandria . He was of the people of El-Fayyoum and his name was Joseph . He becamea monk in the monastery of the great St . Antonios on the mount of El-Araba . When Pope Marcus theseventh, his predecessor, departed, the bishops, priests, and the notables of the people unanimouslyagreed on choosing him a Patriarch . They brought him and ordained him a Patriarch in the church ofthe martyr St . Marcurius in Old Cairo . That was on Sunday, 15th of Babah, 1486 A .M . (October 23,1769 A .D .) . He was called Yoannis the Eighteenth, the 107th Pope of Alexandria .During his days, the Pope of Rome attempted to attract the Eastern Churches and especially theOrthodox Church of Egypt (The Coptic Church) to the Catholic rite . He published the proceedings ofthe Council of Chalcedone in a book and distributed it in all the countries of the East . This council hadcaused the schism of the church, and the Saint Pope Dioscorus (25th Patriarch) had refused torecognize the legitimacy of this council .The Pope of Rome then sent an envoy to Pope Yoannis carrying a message inviting him to be unitedwith him . Pope Yoannis gave this message to Anba Yusab El-Abbah, bishop of Girga . He asked him tostudy it and to respond to it . This great scholar and distinguished theologian replied, refuting all Thaklaims of Rome . He defended his church, its faith, and its doctrines, a splendid defense thatimmortalized his memory . However, the book of the proceedings of the Council of Chalcedonebrought the opposite results of what Rome expected from publishing it . The book was a proof of thesound teachings and doctrines of the Coptic Orthodox church . The Bishop of Rome was sorry forpublishing the book in the East, and he gathered its copies and burned them .During the papacy of Pope Yoannis (John) many tribulations and hardships befell him from the rulersof the country and the Ottoman governors . The Turkish commander of the army seized thepatriarchate treasury and took all its funds . That forced the Pope to disappear from the oppression andthe injustice of those rulers who over tasked the Christians with their unjust rules and the enormousincrease of taxes stipulated from them .Pope Yoannis participated with Ibrahim El-Gohary, the head scribe at that time, in restoring themonasteries and the churches . He also made the Holy Myron . He departed on The Second Day of theblessed month of Baounah, 1512 A .M . (June 7, 1797 A .D .) . He remained on the patriarchal chair fortwenty-six years, seven months, and sixteen days . He was buried in the tomb of the patriarchs in thechurch of St . Marcurius Abu-Saifain . The chair remained vacant three months and twenty-six daysafter his departure .May his prayers be with us and Glory be to God forever . Amen