Anba Mikhail نيافة الأنبا ميخائيل مطران أسيوط (born 1911 or 1912), is the Elder Metropolitan

Metropolitan bishop

In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...

 of the Holy Metropolis of Asyut

Asyut

Asyut is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt; the ancient city of the same name is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city is at .- Etymology :...

 (Lycopolis), (Hieracon

Hieracon

Hieracon or Hierakon or Theracon or Ancient Egyptian Pr-Nemty, was an ancient fortified city of Upper Egypt, situated on the right bank of the Nile, now the site of the modern-day village of al Atawla, Egypt. Here, in Roman times, was quartered the cohors prima of the Lusitanian auxiliaries...

, (Hierakonopolis) and (Apollonopolis Parva) of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and was the Abbot

Abbot

The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

 of the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great

Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great

The Monastery of Saint Macarius is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, about 92 km north west of Cairo, and off the highway between Cairo and Alexandria.-Ancient History:...

, in Scetes, Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....

 until early 2009, when he decided to resign this responsibility due to his failing health and also due to the demise of Matta El Meskeen, the Chief Hegumen

Hegumen

Hegumen, hegumenos, igumen, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called hegumenia or ihumenia . The term means "the one who is in charge", "the leader" in...

 in-charge of the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great

Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great

The Monastery of Saint Macarius is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, about 92 km north west of Cairo, and off the highway between Cairo and Alexandria.-Ancient History:...

 in 2008.
Metropolitan Mikhail was born in 1911 or 1912, in the poor family of Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

ian Coptic Christians in the village of "Al-Rahmaniya", in the district of "Naga Hamadi" in "Qena" Gevernorate. He became monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

 of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria on 19 February 1939. He was ordained priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 on 17 November 1939. He has served as Coptic Orthodox Metropolitan of Asyut

Asyut

Asyut is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt; the ancient city of the same name is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city is at .- Etymology :...

 since 1946. His episcopal

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 ordination took place on 25 August 1946. At present he is probably the most senior Oriental orthodox

Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...

 bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 in the date of episcopal ordination in the world.

See also

• List of Copts
• The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church
  The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church
  The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the highest authority in the Church of Alexandria and it formulates the rules and regulations regarding matters of church's organisation, faith, service's order....
  
  
• Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great
  Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great
  The Monastery of Saint Macarius is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, about 92 km north west of Cairo, and off the highway between Cairo and Alexandria.-Ancient History:...
  
  

Sources

• The Holy Synod (in Arabic and English)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holy_Synod_of_the_Coptic_Orthodox_Patriarchate_of_Alexandria
• http://www.anbawissa.org/vb/showthread.php?t=11930 (in Arabic)
• http://www.hierarchy.religare.ru/h-aincvost-monofiz.html (in Russian)