verpowered the
troops, and forced him to seek safety in flight; and the Jacobite party
then turned out all the bishops who held the Greek faith.

When Justinian heard that the Jacobites were masters of Egypt he
appointed Apollinarius to the joint office of prefect and patriarch of
Alexandria, and sent him with a large force to take possession of his
bishopric. Apollinarius marched into Alexandria in full military dress
at the head of his troops; but when he entered the church he laid aside
his arms, and putting on the patriarchal robes began to celebrate the
rites of his religion. The Alexandrians were by no means overawed by the
force with which he had entered the city; they pelted him with a shower
of stones from every corner of the church, and he was forced to withdraw
from the building in order to save his life. But three days afterwards
the bells were rung through the city, and the people were summoned to
meet in the church on the following Sunday, to hear the emperor's letter
read. When Sunday came the whole city flocked to hear and to disobey
Justinian's orders. Apollinarius began his address by threatening his
hearers that, if they continued obstinate in their opinions, their
children should be made orphans and their widows given up to the
soldiery; and he was as before stopped with a shower of stones. But this
time he was prepared for the attack; this Christian bishop had placed
his troops in ambush round the church, and on a signal given they
rushed out on his unarmed flock, and by his orders the crowds within and
without the church were put to rout by the sword, the soldiers waded
up to their knees in blood, and the city and whole country yielded its
obedience for the time to bishops who held the Greek faith.

Henceforth the Melchite or royalist patriarchs, who were appointed by
the emperor and had the authority of civil prefects, and were supported
by the power of the military prefect, are scarcely mentioned by the
historian of the Koptic church. They were too much engaged in civil
affairs to act the part of ministers of religion. They collected their
revenues principally in grain, and carried on a large export trade,
transporting their stores to those parts of Europe where they would
bring the best price. On one occasion we hear of a small fleet belonging
to the church of Alexandria, consisting of thirteen ships of about
thirty tons burden each, and bearing ten thousand bushels of grain,
being overtaken by