the Coptic Nation) staged a protest demanding that Yousab II resign. On July 25, 1954, the protest culminated in the group kidnapping the Pope and taking him to the Coptic Convent of Saint George in Old Cairo where he was forced to sign a letter of abdication. However, the police were able to rescue the Pope and return him to the patriarchal residence. A year later, the Church's Synod and the General Congregation Council agreed to remove Pope Yousab II from office, stating that he was not fit to execute his duties. He retired to one of the monasteries and in his last days he was transferred to the Coptic Hospital in Azbakeya, Cairo where he died in 1956. The Church was managed by a committee formed of three of the Metropolitans from 1956 to 1959. The committee included Metropolitans Mikhail of Assiut, Metropolitan Agapius Bishop of Dairut and Qasqam and Metropolitan Benyamine, Bishop of Monufia. References Joseph II of Alexandria 1956 deaths Year of birth missing Simony People from Damanhur