Matthew IV

matthew iv, pope of Alexandria and 102nd patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1660-1675). Matthew (Mattawus or Matta al-Miri) of Mir in Upper Egypt was a monk of dayr al-baramus when he was selected to the patriarchate. He remained in office for fourteen years and six months. This is all the information supplied by the history of the patriarchs in one of the darkest periods of Egyptian history. He was a contemporary of the Ottoman sultan Muhammad IV (1648-1687). During Matthew's patriarchate Egypt was governed by a viceroy appointed from Constantinople without ostensible impact on the patriarch or the Coptic church beyond the levy of the annual tax.