Neha Patil (Editor)

Bilbeis

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Country
  
Egypt

Elevation
  
4 m (13 ft)

Population
  
300,000 (2012)

Governorate
  
Sharqia Governorate

Time zone
  
EET (UTC+2)

Local time
  
Wednesday 10:49 PM

Bilbeis

Weather
  
16°C, Wind W at 11 km/h, 84% Humidity

Bilbeis tollbooth to ismalaya canal pt 1 mov05735 mpg


Bilbeis (Egyptian Arabic: بلبيس‎‎  [belˈbeːs]; Coptic: Phelbs) is an ancient fortress city on the eastern edge of the southern Nile delta in Egypt, the site of the Ancient city and former bishopric of Phelbes and a Latin Catholic titular see.

Contents

Map of Belbes, Markaz Belbes, Ash Sharqia Governorate, Egypt

The city is small in size but densely populated, with over 300,000 residents. It also houses the Egyptian Air Force Academy complex, which contains the town's largest public school in Al-Zafer. The mosque of Sadat Qureish, which is the oldest mosque in Egypt, and one may say the entire continent of Africa, is located in Belbeis.

Ss bilbeis jaffa shore


History

The city was important enough in the Roman province of Augustamnica Secunda to become a bishopric.

The city played a role in the machinations for control of the Fatimid vizierate: first in 1164, when Shirkuh was besieged in the city by the combined forces of Shiwar and crusader king Amalric I of Jerusalem for three months; then again in 1168 when the city was assaulted again by Amalric's army, who took the city after three days on 4 November and indiscriminately killed the inhabitants. This atrocity angered the Coptic Egyptians, who had seen the Crusaders as deliverers but had suffered as much as the Muslim inhabitants of Bilbeis. The Copts ended their support of the Crusaders and united with their non-Christian neighbors against the foreigners. (See Crusader invasion of Egypt.)

In 1798, its fortifications were rebuilt at the order of Napoleon.

Ecclesiastical History

The bishopric, a suffragan of the Metropolitan of provincial capital Leontopolis, faded.

Titular see

The diocese of Phelbes was nominally restored in 1933 as a Latin Catholic titular bishopric.

It has had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank :

  • Enrico van Schingen, Jesuits (S.J.) (1936.12.17 – 1954.07.02)
  • Antoine Henri van den Hurk, Capuchin Franciscans (O.F.M. Cap.) (1955.01.01 – 1961.01.03) as Apostolic Vicar of Medan (Indonesia) (1955.01.01 – 1961.01.03), promoted first Metropolitan Archbishop of Medan (1961.01.03 – 1976.05.24)
  • Walmor Battú Wichrowski (1961.05.31 – 1971.05.27) & (1972.11.16 – 2001.10.31)
  • Airton José dos Santos (2001.12.19 – 2004.08.04) as Auxiliary Bishop of Santo André (Brazil) (2001.12.19 – 2004.08.04), later Bishop of Mogi das Cruzes (Brazil) (2004.08.04 – 2012.02.15), Metropolitan Archbishop of Campinas (Brazil) (2012.02.15 – ...)
  • Javier Augusto del Río Alba (2004.10.12 – 2006.07.11) as Auxiliary Bishop of Callao (Peru) (2004.10.12 – 2006.07.11), Coadjutor Archbishop of Arequipa (Peru) (2006.07.11 – 2006.10.20), succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Arequipa (2006.10.20 – ...), Second Vice-President of Episcopal Conference of Peru (2012.01 – ...)
  • Janusz Wiesław Kaleta (2006.09.15 – 2011.02.05)
  • Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, Salesians (S.D.B.) (2011.12.10 – 2014.02.11) as Auxiliary Bishop of Montevideo (Uruguay) (2011.12.10 – 2014.02.11), succeeded as Metropolitan Archbishop of Montevideo (2014.02.11 – ...), created Cardinal-Priest of S. Galla (2015.02.14 [2015.05.17] – ...)
  • Jorge Ángel Saldía Pedraza, Dominican Order (O.P.) (2014.03.25 – ...), Auxiliary Bishop of La Paz (Bolivia)

    • Climate

    Bilbeis is classified by Köppen-Geiger climate classification system as hot desert (BWh), as the rest of Egypt.

    References

    Bilbeis Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA