Before becoming a pope, John XIX was the Metropolitan of
Al Beheira in
Egypt; he is the first ever bishop/
metropolitan of an
eparchy to become a pope in the history of the
Coptic Orthodox Church; before him the tradition was to nominate a
monk to the papal position. Some argue that the choice of bishop as pope (and bishop) of Alexandria is not canonical (against Canon 15 of the
First Council of Nicaea and other Church councils/canons). This issue has caused an ongoing dispute since 1928 in the Coptic Orthodox Church. ==References==