High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Father Matta El Meskeen or Matthew the Poor, born Youssef Iskandar (20 September 1919 – 8 June 2006) was an Egyptian Coptic Orthodox monk. He was the key figure in the revival of Egyptian monasticism which began in 1969 when he was appointed to the Monastery of St Macarius in the Wadi El Natrun in Egypt. By the time of his death the community had grown from 6 aged monks to 130 monks, and many other monasteries had revived, and new ones opened. He was twice nominated to become Coptic Pope, but was not chosen in either case.