He later ordained Benjamin to the priesthood, and eventually appointed him as his assistant, making Benjamin the heir presumptive to the patriarchy. In his position as assistant to the patriarch, Benjamin became acquainted with the intricacies of church affairs and within the Coptic Christian community. Benjamin became highly regarded for his work both within and without the church, which helped bring about his election to the patriarchate upon the death of Andronicus. Few records exist regarding the early years of Benjamin's tenure. He is known to have issued encyclicals regarding the dates of the observance of Easter, and instructing the clergy in doctrinal matters. He also worked to help his church through the end of Sassinid rule. Fifteen of his encyclicals from this time, all of which have been lost, were known to have been collected into a single volume, which has also been lost. In 623 A.D. the Persians captured Egypt. The Copts were prevented from practicing their religion, and their human and national rights were denied. Nevertheless, some Copts felt relief because alien Patriarchs were no longer appointed by Byzantium to oppress the Egyptian church. However, during that era the Persians ruined and destroyed many churches and monasteries. The Byzantines regained control in 628. In 631, Cyrus, the Chalcedonian bishop of Phasis, was appointed by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius as both the Melkite patriarch of Egypt and as the prefect in command of the military forces of that province of the empire. His duties in the latter position included curbing religious separatism in the province, by persuasion if possible but by arms if necessary. Benjamin, who was Cyrus's rival in the see of Alexandria, fled the city and sought refuge in the wilderness of St. Macarius, then in Upper Egypt. When persuasion failed, Cyrus began to use force. It was during this time that Benjamin's brother Mennas joined the rebellion against the rule of Cyrus for which he was eventually executed. Cyrus also confiscated the property of all clerics who followed the fugitive Benjamin, and many churches in Egypt were turned over to the Melkites by force. Cyrus's troops seized Mennas and burned him with torches until, according to Severus ibn al-Muqaffa, ‘the fat dropped down from both his sides to the ground’. Still unshaken, his teeth were pulled out, and he was stuffed into a sack filled with sand and taken by a boat seven bowshots away