Pope Cyril (Kyrillos) VI

His Holiness Pope Cyril (Kyrillos) VI died on March 9, 1971, and he was buried under the altar of the cathedral. On November 25, 1972, his body was transferred in a solemn ceremony to the monastery of the martyr Saint Menes in Meriut according to his desire to be next to his patron saint Menes
The archeological area of the Deir Menes has been registered in the UNESCO of the Most Important Archeological Areas. In 1979, UNESCO has paid special attention to the archeological site of Abu Mina and approved it among the 57 areas as a human heritage that must be taken care of and preserved globally. In this regard, it published a book in 1982, containing a brief description of each of The history of the monastery dating back to the arrival of the remains of the martyr "Saint Menes" and their settlement in its ancient shrine of antiquities around 312-315.

The first church of the martyr in Meriot was built between 320 and 325 AD during the reign of King Constantine the Great, and the number of visitors and seekers of miracles
When the number of visitors increased, Bishop Theophilus, Pope 23, built a vast cathedral east of the first church. He also renovated and expanded the first church, and built a great baptism in the west.

The city, with its churches, became coveted by foreigners and raids of the Turkish Berbers and Persians until the 13th century the town and its churches were extinct fields because of the extensive vandalism that befell it and the lack of security in it. Then the body of the martyr Saint Menes moved through a long journey from the Mariout
Archeological finds of the area began in 1905 with the work of the German scientist Kaufman, followed by other research at intervals of the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, the Coptic Museum in Cairo, and others.

And during the reign of His Holiness Pope Cyril VI, the area on which the modern monastery is located completely adjacent to the archeological area was purchased and reconstruction began again and its area reaches 15 acres.

The shrine is separated from the nave of the church, a hollow wall that houses about 15 pieces of the Pope's belongings, and is closed with glass, in order to ensure visitors' safety. It includes a silver cross set with a green stone in the middle, his latent clock, which was stopped with his death at eleven to a third, and his make-three, which resembles a leather belt containing 12 crosses. The monk wears it when he becomes autistic or when he advances spiritually in the monastery and wears it after holding special prayers.

His owner is obliged to submit to excessive monastic and ascetic laws. Visitors write down their orders in a pot at the top of the mausoleum. The number of visitors to the monastery increases on the feasts of saints, official holidays, and on Fridays and Sundays, where they enter the shrine spraying the sign of the cross, and head quickly from the tribal entrance to the sea to take the blessing, while some of them stay for long periods subsequent to the Pope's body, talking about their problems
The monastery kept three pairs of shoes for the pope, each of which varied according to the situation. The first is the leather shoe, which lasted in its foot for years unchanged, due to its asceticism in life, the second is the "slipper" for its internal movements in monasteries among monks, and the third is the cloth shoe dedicated to the prayers