dissensions. Externally, the Persians posed considerable
threats of war, and fought the Byzantines in small
skirmishes and in full-fledged battles.
Emperor Phocas however was overthrown – and
eventually beheaded – by a general of his army called
Heraclius, who declared himself Emperor in his place.
Heraclius ruled for over twenty years, and it was during
his reign that first the Persians and then the Arabs
conquered the Middle Eastern countries of Palestine,
Syria and Egypt.
The Persian conquest of the Middle East started
with Palestine and Syria. The Persians were excessively
brutal, and when they invaded these two countries, which
were then Roman provinces, many of their inhabitants fled
in terror to Egypt.
- The arrival of these hordes of refugees was a great
challenge to the people of Egypt. In pity of them and in a
surge of the spirit of Christian charity, Abba Anastasius
and his Bishops, together with the faithful, did all that was
humanly possible to help them and alleviate their plight.
But with all their good will and their charity, the services
they could render were limited due to their own
circumstances. The struggle with Constantinople had
already taken a big toll of their property. Amidst the
gloom of the situation, however, a silver lining shone
through the dark clouds. God, in his infinite mercy,
softened the heart of John, the intruding Patriarch and
made him see the necessity of his co-operation with the
Copts and their Pope to offer relief and hospitality to the
refugees. Thus the legal successor of St. Mark found an
ally in the man intruding upon his chair. Christian charity
prevailed then.