In the year of Grace l99, the tide of Coptic history
was taking a turn: the peace that had been enjoyed by the
Church up till then was about to be broken. Abba
Demetrius, heretofore a simple vinedresser, was chosen to sit
on the Chair of St. Mark. The choice came about when his
predecessor, Abba Yulianus, had seen a vision, wherein he
was told by an Angel that his departure from this world was
imminent, and that he was to choose as his successor the
man who came to him on the following day with a bunch of
grapes. On the morrow Demetrius, the vinedresser,
appeared carrying a bunch of grapes, the first fruit of the
season, as a gift to his Pope. Abba Yulianus immediately
retained him and related his vision to those around him. On
that very same day he died and was gathered unto his
forebears. The people, true to the counsel of Yulianus,
declared Demetrius as his successor. Thus he became the
12 th successor of St. Mark the Apostle.
Demetrius had been a man of little learning. When he
was chosen Pope, the first goal he set for himself was to seek
learning assiduously and diligently, and to make himself
worthy of serving his people. It is said of him that he used to
sit at the feet of his teachers saying, “Let men seek
