(CE:358a)
BASILIOS II, archbishop of Jerusalem (1818-1899). Basilios was born in the village of Al-D?abbah in the governorate of Qena. When he was twenty-five he entered the monastery of Saint Antony (DAYR ANBA ANTUNIYUS) in the Eastern Desert. After six years he was ordained priest, and was made archpriest three years later. He was then chosen to be head of the monastery.
In 1856 he became archbishop of the see of Jerusalem during the time of Patriarch CYRIL IV (1854-1861), taking the
name Basilios. The archbishop of Jerusalem was also considered head of the monastery of Anba Basilios. He renovated the monastery, which is next to the Holy Sepulcher, and built a church and a building for the patriarchate, as well as rooms for pilgrims and other visitors. The monastery and Church of Saint George in Jerusalem were also restored. The archbishop took pains to preserve the church's sacred objects, especially in DAYR AL-SULT?AN in Jerusalem. In Jaffa, he bought a large orchard where he built a church and
monastery for Coptic visitors.
He had many other churches built in different places and restored others. He was well known for his charitable nature and his concern for the poor. He was renowned for his broadmindedness, honesty, good counsel, and love for the church and his people. Despite ill health, Basilios continued to look after his diocese and its people until his death on 26 March 1899 at the age of eighty-two. He was buried in the bishops' shrine near the Coptic church that he had built in Jaffa.
ARCHBISHOP BASILIOS
