Basil IV (Coptic archbishop of Jerusalem)

On September 24, 1991, he went on a pastoral visit to the flock in Amman, Jordan. Following a long day of service, he retired to his room to rest at around midnight. When morning came and he did not exit his room, the fathers who were with him felt worried, and went in to check on him, finding him comatose on his bed. He was rushed to Luzmila Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a brain stroke. When news of this came to the then King of Jordan, King Hussein, he ordered him to be transported to the King Hussein Medical Center, to ensure that he receive effective treatment. He remained ill in the hospital, falling in and out of consciousness, and with minimal control over his body, until his death early in the morning on Sunday October 13, 1991. Upon his death, he was transported to Cairo, where the funerary rites were prayed upon him by Pope Shenouda III, in the Virgin Mary Cathedral, Zeitoun. He was buried in a specially prepared tomb in the Monastery of Saint Anthony, in the Red Sea Wilderness.

During the Easter Vigil in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on April 25, 1970, the Israeli government sent military forces to change the locks of the monastery to enable the Ethiopian monks to take control of it. Afterwards, the Israeli Supreme Court unanimously approved the restoration of the monastery to the Copts on March 16, 1971, yet the Israeli government refused to implement the Supreme Court ruling.

Basil IV, (Arabic: الأنبا باسيليوس‎, Coptic: Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ), was the 20th Metropolitan of the Holy and Great City of Our Lord, Jerusalem (Holy Zion), and Archbishop of the Holy and Ancient Archdiocese of Jerusalem, all Palestine and the Near East, from 1959, until his death in 1991.

In 1956, both Metropolitan James II of Jerusalem and Pope Joseph II of Alexandria, died. Thus, both the See of Jerusalem, and the See of Alexandria would remain vacant from 1956 to 1959. Upon his enthronement on May 10, 1959, Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria made it his top priority to consecrate a bishop for Jerusalem, seeing that three years was a long time for such an important See, held second only to the See of Alexandria in the Coptic tradition, to remain empty. After discussing the possible candidates for the position, Pope Cyril VI, and the Holy Synod, came to the final decision of appointing Hegumen Monk Cyril of Saint Anthony, due to his immense qualifications.

On June 7, 1959, he was consecrated as Bail IV, Metropolitan of Jerusalem and Archbishop of all Palestine, Philadelphia of Jordan, and all the Near East, by the hands of Pope Cyril VI and the Bishops and Metropolitans of the Holy Synod. He was the first Bishop to be consecrated by the then newly appointed Patriarch, Pope Cyril VI.

He also continued his education, by enrolling in the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies. During this time, he was also sent on a scholarship by the Coptic Theological and Clerical College to study at the School of Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In 1956, he completed both a M.S. in Theology from the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies, and a PhD on "The Role of the Copts during the Reign of Emperor Heraclius" from the School of Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Late in 1946, he departed to the Monastery of Saint Anthony, seeking the monastic life, and was later tonsured a monk there and given the monastic name, Monk Cyril of Saint Anthony (Arabic: أبونا الراهب كيرلس الأنطونى‎‎). He was later ordained to the priesthood, and he served as a priest in Ezbet el Deir, the headquarters of the Monastery of Saint Anthony in Bush, Beni Suef, Egypt, and the Church of the Virgin Mary in Al-Molleha, Hadaiq Al Qubbah, Cairo, Egypt. During his time as a monk he wrote a book about the life of Saint Anthony, titled "Star of the Wilderness (Arabic: كوكب البرية‎)" (1950), and another book about the Ecumenical councils titled "The Age of the Councils (Arabic: عصر المجامع‎)" (1952).

He was born as Samy Tawadros Girgis (Arabic: سامي تاوضروس جرجس‎), in Asyut, Asyut, Egypt, on November 1, 1923; he was the fifth of six siblings. After completing his secondary education in 1940, he travelled to Cairo and met with Archdeacon Habib Girgis, seeking to be enrolled in the Coptic Theological and Clerical College. He graduated first of his class from the Coptic Theological and Clerical College, and received a Diploma in Theology in 1943.