In late antiquity, the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis (Manf) was the seat of a Christian bishop. [1] According to Athanasius of Alexandria, the city had a Melitian bishop named John around 325. In that year, its Orthodox bishop, Antiochus, attended the Council of Nicaea. [2] John was still in power around 335. [1]
Around 340, according to a Coptic Life of Athanasius, the Orthodox bishop of Memphis was Nestorius. [1] [3] A later bishop named Philip is credited with composing a biography of Saint Maharati. [2] Some sources list a bishop Ptolemy around 700, but this may be due to confusion with an eponymous bishop of Onouphis (Manuf). [1]
The first known bishop after the Arab conquest of Egypt is Mennas, who took part in a prayer service organized by the Patriarch Kha'il I (r. 744–767) to seek the rising of the Nile. In 798, Bishop Apa George was in the company of Patriarch John IV on a visit to Alexandria. Documents from the monastery of Dayr Apa Jeremiah list a Jacob as bishop of Memphis under Patriarch Joseph I (r. 830–849) and a bishop Antony of an undetermined period. The last record of a bishop of Memphis is from 1240, when a certain Mark is recorded as bishop of Awsim and Memphis. According to the early 13th-century report of Abu al-Makarim, there were then only two churches in what was left of Memphis. [2]