JOHN XVIII, 107th patriarch of the See of Saint Mark
(1769-1796). A monk of the Monastery of Saint Antony (DAYR ANBA
ANTUNIYUS) in the Eastern Desert, he was selected by the
community of the clergy and the Coptic archons to succeed MARK
VII at his death in 1769. His patriarchate proved to be one of
the most miserable periods in Coptic history. On several
occasions the patriarch had to flee from the injustice and
extortions imposed on the Christians. The tyranny of the Mamluk
amirs was relentless as Ibrahim Bey and Murad Bey decided to
overthrow the yoke of the Supreme Porte in Constantinople and
declare independence for Egypt. They imposed large taxes on the
Christians. The sultan, ‘Abd al-Hamid (1774-1784), sent an army
under the command of a new viceroy named Hasan Pasha to quell
the civil war; he inflicted a heavy defeat on the rebellious
Mamluks. But this did not alleviate the suffering and
persecution of the native population in general and the Copts in
particular. On the contrary, the new master proved