Pope of Alexandria

The Pope of Alexandria is the head of the Church of Alexandria in Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope (from Greek Παπας, meaning Father), and did so earlier than that of the Bishop of Rome. The first Bishop to be called Pope was the thirteenth Patriarch of Alexandria, Pope Heraclas.
At first, the diocese of Alexandria was an Episcopate, which was revered as one of the three most ancient Episcopates, along with Rome and Antioch, a century before Jerusalem or Constantinople attained that status in 381. The five subsequently came to be known as the Pentarchy. Alexandria was, de facto, elevated to an Archiepiscopal status by the local Alexandrine Council on the one hand and it was then regulated by canon law of the First Ecumenical Council stipulating that all the Egyptian episcopal and metropolitan provinces be subjected to the Metropolitan See of Alexandria, as was already the prevailing custom.
The office was acknowledged as a Patriarchate by the time of the First Council of Ephesus, and was officially ratified as such by the Council of Chalcedon.
The title Pope was originally used in a capacity of an appellation rather than a title and eventually it became a title. However, contrary to the Pope of Rome, the Pope of Alexandria had no distinction in his Papal/Pontifical and Patriarchal titles. They were used together in the same capacity and this dual title did not put him on a higher ecclesiastical/hierarchical level than the other Patriarchs of the Pentarchy. Also the use of the title by the Roman Bishop did not restrict it to himself or deprive his Alexandrian colleague of its use.
Papa or Pope has been the specific designation for the Archbishop of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the See of Saint Mark. Historically, this office has held the title of "Pope" since Pope Heracleus, the 13th Alexandrine Bishop (232-249 AD). This occurred three centuries before it was assumed by John I, Bishop of Rome (523-526 AD). Bestowing the title on Rome's Pontiff did not strip it from Alexandria's, and the Roman Catholic Church recognizes this ecclesiastical fact. The first record in history of the term "Pope" is assigned to Pope Heraclas of Alexandria in a letter written by the bishop of Rome, Dionysius, to Philemon, which reads "I received this rule and ordinance from our blessed Pope, Heraclas."
The ecclesiastic title of the Pope of Alexandria is "Papa Abba". The word "Abba" stands for the devotion of all monastics, from Pentapolis in the West to Constantinople in the East, to his guidance. Abba is the most powerful designation, indicating that all monks in the East voluntarily follow the spiritual authority of the Alexandrine Primate.
The See of Alexandria was founded in 42 by the Apostle Saint Mark the Evangelist. All Alexandrine churches today acknowledge the same succession of church leaders up to about the dividing Council of Chalcedon (451 AD), which gave rise to the non-chalcedonian Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and to the chalcedonian Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
Jurisdictional claimants to the title of Patriarch of Alexandria
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
* The Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the Holy See of St. Mark the Apostle leads the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, but resides in Cairo since Christodoulos moved the residence in mid eleventh century. His full title is:
: Pope and Archbishop of the Great City of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa, the Holy Orthodox and Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist that is, in Egypt, Pentapolis, Libya, Nubia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and all Africa.
: The Successor of St. Mark the Evangelist, Holy Apostle and Martyr, on the Holy Apostolic Throne of the Great City of Alexandria
: Diocesan Bishop of Alexandria
: Elder Metropolitan Archbishop of the Egyptian Province
: Primate of Pentapolis, Libya, Nubia and Sudan
: Patriarch of all Africa
: The Pillar and Defender of the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Orthodox Faith
: The Dean of the Great Catechetical School of Theology of Alexandria
: The Ecumenical (Universal) Judge (Arbitrator) of the Holy Apostolic and Catholic (Universal) Church
: The Thirteenth among the Holy Apostles
: Father of Fathers, Shepherd of Shepherds
: Hierarch of all Hierarchs
: Bishop (Archpriest) of Bishops (Archpriests)
: The Thirteenth Apostle
: Judge (Arbitrator) of the Universe (the Oecumene)
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria
* The Greek Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa leads the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria. His full title is:
: Patriarch of the Great City of Alexandria, Libya, the Pentapolis, Ethiopia and All Africa
Eastern Catholic Churches
Coptic Catholic Church of Alexandria
*The Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, who leads the Coptic Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See, can also be granted the title of Cardinal Bishop by the Pope, without compromising his Patriarchal status.
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
*The Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites, who leads the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See, also carries the titles of the Titular Patriarch of Alexandria of the Greek-Melkites and the Titular Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Greek-Melkites.
Roman Catholic Church
*The Latin Patriarch of Alexandria was the head of the Titular Patriarchal See of Alexandria of the Roman Catholic Church established by Pope Innocent III. The title was last held by Luca Ermenegildo Pasetto until his death in 1954 and remained vacant until its suppression in 1964.

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