CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria

Historical work of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2026
Entity authoritySource title only
Source-derived summary

The History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria is a major historical work of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It is the only continuous narrative on the history of the Non-Chalcedonian Alexandrian Patriarchate. It is written in Coptic, but draws extensively on older biographical Greek and Coptic sources. Its compilation is traditionally ascribed to the Coptic bishop of Hermopolis, Severus Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ, up to the 10th century and various contributors afterwards. Modern scholarship instead credits it to Mawhib ibn Mufarrij of Alexandria.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria” as historical work of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around History, Patriarchs and Alexandria.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current 82-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with History, Patriarchs and Alexandria providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria”, the useful work is to connect “historical work of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria primary sources, History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria archive and History research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.