After the Arab conquest Pope Benjamin, who was in exile, was allowed to return to Alexandria and resume the patriarchate.
[1] Theonas instructed Benjamin in the virtues of the monastic life, including holiness, patience, and self-control, and in the study of the Bible.
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.
Nevertheless, some Copts felt relief because alien Patriarchs were no longer appointed by Byzantium to oppress the Egyptian church.
In 631, Cyrus, the Chalcedonian bishop of Phasis, was appointed by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius as both the Melkite patriarch of Egypt[2] and as the prefect in command of the military forces of that province of the empire.
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.
It was during this time that Benjamin's brother Mennas joined the rebellion against the rule of Cyrus for which he was eventually executed.
[3] 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’.
[4] The Arab Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As began his campaign to conquer Egypt in 639, eventually invading Alexandria itself on 17 September 642.
At the end of the conference, 'Amr restored to Benjamin all the rights that he had been denied by the Byzantines, and recognized him as the sole representative of the Egyptian people.
[1] Benjamin worked to restore the Coptic church by renewing some of the policies which had been put in place by his predecessor Pope Damian of Alexandria.
One of his more remarkable feats during this period was the recovery of the head of Saint Mark, which the Melkites had intended to try to smuggle back to Byzantium.
Benjamin is widely celebrated for his role in guiding the Coptic church through the turmoil and upheaval of the Islamic conquest.