Stéphanos I Sidarouss
Encyclopedia
Stéphanos I Sidarouss, CM
(in Arabic
إسطفانوس الأول سيداروس) (February 22, 1904—August 23, 1987) was a Cardinal
and leader of the Coptic Catholic Church
, an Eastern Catholic sui juris particular church
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Patriarch of Alexandria from 1958 to 1986, and was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1965.
, and later entered the Congregation of the Mission
, more commonly known as the Lazarists. He was educated at houses of studies belonging to his religious order
in France
, where he was ordained
to the priesthood
on July 22, 1939, in Dax
. Sidarouss then taught at the seminary
of Évreux
and at the scholasticates of Dax and Montmagny
until 1946. From 1946 to 1947, he was director of the Ecclesiastical Institute of Catholic Copts in Tantah, Egypt
.
On August 9, 1947, Sidarouss was elected Auxiliary Bishop
of the Eparchy
of Alexandria and Titular Bishop
of Sais. He received his episcopal consecration
on January 25, 1948 from Patriarch Marco II Khouzam, with Bishops Alexandros Scandar and Pierre Dib serving as co-consecrators
. Sidarouss was later elected Patriarch of Alexandria, and thus primate
of the Coptic Catholic Church
, on May 10, 1958, and attended the Second Vatican Council
from 1962 to 1965.
Pope Paul VI
created him a Cardinal Bishop
in the consistory
of February 22, 1965, which happened to be his sixty-first birthday. As with all members of the Eastern hierarchy, Sidarouss did not assume a titular church of Rome
upon his elevation to the College of Cardinals
. He expressed his opinion that the Latin Church
would be unwise to ordain non-celibate men
, believing married priests may become too absorbed with family matters, at the Synod of Bishops
in 1971.
The Patriarch was one of the cardinal electors
who participated in the conclaves
of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I
and John Paul II
respectively. He lost the right to participate in any future conclaves upon reaching the age of eighty on February 22, 1984, and resigned the patriarchate on May 24, 1986, after twenty-eight years of service.
Cardinal Sidarouss later died in his native Cairo, at age 83.
Lazarists
Congregation of the Mission is a vowed order of priests and brothers associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations who claim St. Vincent de Paul as their founder or Patron...
(in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
إسطفانوس الأول سيداروس) (February 22, 1904—August 23, 1987) was a Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
and leader of the Coptic Catholic Church
Coptic Catholic Church
The Coptic Catholic Church is an Alexandrian Rite particular Church in full communion with the Pope of Rome. Historically, Coptic Catholics represent a schism from the Coptic Orthodox Church, leaving that church in order to come into full communion with the Bishop of Rome.The current Coptic...
, an Eastern Catholic sui juris particular church
Particular Church
In Catholic canon law, a Particular Church is an ecclesial community headed by a bishop or someone recognised as the equivalent of a bishop.There are two kinds of particular Churches:# Local particular Churches ...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Patriarch of Alexandria from 1958 to 1986, and was elevated to the cardinalate
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 1965.
Biography
Stéphanos I Sidarouss was born in CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, and later entered the Congregation of the Mission
Lazarists
Congregation of the Mission is a vowed order of priests and brothers associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations who claim St. Vincent de Paul as their founder or Patron...
, more commonly known as the Lazarists. He was educated at houses of studies belonging to his religious order
Roman Catholic religious order
Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on July 22, 1939, in Dax
Dax, Landes
Dax is a commune in Aquitaine in south-western France, sub-prefecture of the Landes department.It is particularly famous as a spa, specialising in mud treatment for rheumatism and similar ailments....
. Sidarouss then taught at the seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
of Évreux
Évreux
Évreux is a commune in the Eure department, of which it is the capital, in Haute Normandie in northern France.-History:In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named Mediolanum Aulercorum, "the central town of the Aulerci", the Gallic tribe then inhabiting the area...
and at the scholasticates of Dax and Montmagny
Montmagny, Val-d'Oise
Montmagny is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.-Transport:The north of Montmagny is served by the Gare de Deuil-Montmagny station and the south by the Gare d'Epinay-Villetaneuse station, both on the Transilien Paris – Nord suburban rail...
until 1946. From 1946 to 1947, he was director of the Ecclesiastical Institute of Catholic Copts in Tantah, 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...
.
On August 9, 1947, Sidarouss was elected Auxiliary Bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of the Eparchy
Eparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
of Alexandria and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Sais. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on January 25, 1948 from Patriarch Marco II Khouzam, with Bishops Alexandros Scandar and Pierre Dib serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. Sidarouss was later elected Patriarch of Alexandria, and thus primate
Primate (religion)
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
of the Coptic Catholic Church
Coptic Catholic Church
The Coptic Catholic Church is an Alexandrian Rite particular Church in full communion with the Pope of Rome. Historically, Coptic Catholics represent a schism from the Coptic Orthodox Church, leaving that church in order to come into full communion with the Bishop of Rome.The current Coptic...
, on May 10, 1958, and attended the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
from 1962 to 1965.
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
created him a Cardinal Bishop
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of February 22, 1965, which happened to be his sixty-first birthday. As with all members of the Eastern hierarchy, Sidarouss did not assume a titular church of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
upon his elevation to the College of Cardinals
College of Cardinals
The College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
. He expressed his opinion that the Latin Church
Latin Church
The Latin Church is the largest particular church within the Catholic Church. It is a particular church not on the level of the local particular churches known as dioceses or eparchies, but on the level of autonomous ritual churches, of which there are 23, the remaining 22 of which are Eastern...
would be unwise to ordain non-celibate men
Clerical celibacy (Catholic Church)
Clerical celibacy is the discipline by which, in some Churches, only unmarried men are, as a rule, to be ordained to the priesthood. The same discipline holds in some other Churches for ordination to the episcopate....
, believing married priests may become too absorbed with family matters, at the Synod of Bishops
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
in 1971.
The Patriarch was one of the cardinal electors
Cardinal electors in Papal conclaves, August and October 1978
The following were the cardinal electors in the papal conclaves of August and October 1978. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically .Because there was such a brief period between the two conclaves, the lists of electors...
who participated in the conclaves
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I
Pope John Paul I
John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...
and John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
respectively. He lost the right to participate in any future conclaves upon reaching the age of eighty on February 22, 1984, and resigned the patriarchate on May 24, 1986, after twenty-eight years of service.
Cardinal Sidarouss later died in his native Cairo, at age 83.