# Pope Gabriel VI

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/pope-gabriel-vi — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-02)

Pope Gabriel VI was the ninety-first patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1466–1475), formerly a monk and superior of the Monastery of Saint Antony.[^1][^2]

## Early Life and Monastic Service

Gabriel VI was the ninety-first patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, serving from 1466 to 1475.[^1] He was born at al-‘Arabah al-Madfunah, from which he received the name al-‘Arabawi, and was also surnamed Ibn Qatta‘ al-‘Usfur. He became a monk at the Monastery of Saint Antony (Dayr Anba Antuniyus) and later served as its superior.[^2]

## Patriarchate

Following the death of Matthew II, Gabriel was chosen as pope of Alexandria on 9 February 1466. He established his residence at the Church of Our Lady in Harit Zuwaylah, Cairo, which was then the patriarchal seat.[^3]

Little is known of his life.[^4]

## Canonical Answers and Manuscript Attribution

Two manuscripts in the library of the Coptic patriarchate in Cairo preserve canonical answers concerning marriage and the service of the altar. The questions came from various people, probably bishops, and were described as collected in the cell of the patriarch “Ghubriyal al-Farbawi”; this name is interpreted as al-‘Arabawi.[^5]

The manuscripts are Theology 294, an eighteenth-century Egyptian copy, and Theology 295, dated 22 Abib A.M. 1549, given in the source as 16/27 July 1743.[^6]

Their attribution has differed: the canonical answers have been assigned to Gabriel VII, whereas they are associated with Gabriel VI and the attribution to Gabriel VII is regarded as mistaken.[^7]

## Death and Burial

Gabriel died on 15 December 1475 and was buried at Dayr al-Khandaq, in the Church of Anba Ruways in Cairo. He was one of four patriarchs buried in that church.[^4]

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 316)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 316)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 316)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 316)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 316)
[^6]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 316)
[^7]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 316)