# Was there ever a black pope? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680 "2013-02-18T07:25:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680/21 "2013-02-21T05:56:22Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > … that’s one weird definition of white you have there. Not really. Middle Easterners are generally considered Caucasian, but they are not necessarily considered “white.” ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680/22 "2013-02-21T06:49:30Z")
Who was it that said Mary must have been black since her lineage (part of it) came from Egypt? What are the chances you’re black if you’re an Egyptian back then? Small, I would think. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680/23 "2013-02-21T07:00:57Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Not really. Middle Easterners are generally considered Caucasian, but they are not necessarily considered “white.” Again, by a very strange definition of “white”, the same one under which Alexandre Dumas (pere or fils) would have been considered “black” and under which the Irish needed to “become white”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680/24 "2013-02-21T13:39:24Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Not really. Middle Easterners are generally considered Caucasian, but they are not necessarily considered “white.” Be that as it may, I think that **Nava** is correct in pointing out that **Simplicio** should not have stated what he did as if it were fact, and that he should at least have told us what his definition of “white” was. I, too, looked at that original post with a bit of confusion and skepticism. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680/25 "2013-02-21T16:59:44Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Until fairly recently, neither Christianity nor Islam penetrated very far into Sub-Saharan African culture, simply owing to communication issues. For various historical reasons, Christianity was stronger in the east, whereas Islam was stronger in the west; in both it tended to be much moer common among the elite and didn’t necessarily affect folk beliefs or practices very deeply. > > . The Coptic Church may have been formed as early as AD42, and became a separate entity in AD451, and was active well to the south of Egypt, including Nubia, the Sudan, etc. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680/26 "2013-02-21T18:42:44Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The Coptic Church may have been formed as early as AD42, and became a separate entity in AD451, and was active well to the south of Egypt, including Nubia, the Sudan, etc. Not only that, but **all** their Popes have been [**exclusively** African](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Coptic_Orthodox_Popes_of_Alexandria) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680/27 "2013-02-21T20:14:14Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Again, by a very strange definition of “white”, the same one under which Alexandre Dumas (pere or fils) would have been considered “black” and under which the Irish needed to “become white”. Again, this is not necessarily the case. The two cases you cite are not really comparable. Many Middle Easterners (though of course not all) are considerably darker skinned than the majority of Europeans. By what definition is [this guy](http://www.internationaleducationmedia.com/images/united_arab_emirates_4.jpg) “white” (rather than just Caucasian)? Asian Indians are usually considered Caucasian, but [many are certainly not “white”](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ajFGEfZNVX4/Sfu5sgaVtCI/AAAAAAAABrU/eBf25wapkK4/s400/_A1W3897.jpg) by any definition that doesn’t equate being white with being Caucasian. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-ever-a-black-pope/650680.md?page=1)