The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria

Traditionally attributed to Severus ibn al-Muqaffaʿ, The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria is a many-voiced chronicle of the Coptic patriarchate. From Saint Mark onward, named and anonymous historians carried the record across centuries, preserving the succession of the fathers who occupied the apostolic throne of Alexandria.

The patriarchal lives unfold through Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman, and modern Egypt. They follow councils and confessions of faith, monasteries and churches, relations with rulers, seasons of peace and persecution, famine and war, learning and pastoral care, mercy and miracle. The result is more than a sequence of biographies: it is a continuous memory of how the Coptic Church understood its life, suffering, and witness.

Across these lives, the patriarchs emerge as pastors, theologians, diplomats, builders, confessors, and guardians of communal memory. Their stories show the Alexandrian see responding to councils and schisms, shifting capitals and rulers, monastic reform, linguistic change, and the daily needs of Christian communities along the Nile and beyond.

This source-first English edition follows checked Arabic page images and Vatican Arabic 620. Footnotes identify people, places, dates, Scripture, historical measures, and difficult readings while preserving the devotional voice of the transmitted History.

The translated record reaches Pope Cyril V. A clearly separated original modern continuation, written for this edition by Dr Bishoy Marcus, then follows the patriarchal succession from Pope John XIX through Pope Tawadros II.

For scholars, clergy, students, and general readers, this volume offers a readable path through one of Christianity's longest and most important ecclesiastical histories.

The transmitted account ends in 1894; the separate modern continuation by Dr Bishoy Marcus extends through 31 August 2026. Generative artificial intelligence assisted the preparation of this accessible English edition. It does not replace primary texts, printed editions or surviving manuscripts. Scholars should verify quotations, textual readings and academic conclusions against those sources.