ST. Stratios The Anchorite

During the reign of one of the Orthodox kings who ruled Rome, there was a prince from Rome who was in command of one hundred soldiers. Filled with God’s grace he said to the king; "I want to leave this transitory world and go to the wilderness to become a monk there." He sailed to Alexandria and after that he traveled on land to Tor Sina .

That was 200 years after the departure of both St. John Clamacus, who wrote The Ladder of Divine Ascent and was the father of all the Sinai monks and St. Anastas the Sinai the Abbot. Both were righteous and advanced in virtue. At that time there were 250 monks in the monastery. St. Stratios behaved in the monastery with great devoutness and with a flaming fervor for Jesus Christ that he deserved to wear the monastic garb (Eskeem).

After spending many years in the monastery during which he served the monks with extreme love, he begged his Godfather to let him go into the wilderness. His father agreed thinking he was going to live in a cave near by, and not too far from the monastery……..

He took his scarf and his walking stick and walked praising God and saying: "I lift my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth….." psalm 121 Until he reached a cave far in the wilderness, and there he continued striving in devotion and struggling aggressively in his spiritual life and in his love for the Lord Jesus Christ. He ate from the grass growing on the rocks and drank from a spring which was close to this grass in the wilderness. He overlapped the days fasting and would only eat a handful of grass and little water.

His prayer was beyond computation because he imitated the spiritual people in their continuous praising and nonstop prayer…. And he continued that way for about twelve years. He knew that he was going to depart from this passing transitory world to join the saints in the forthcoming world after forty days. When he felt that his time was close he made the sign of the holy cross, of the glorious Lord Jesus Christ, on the wind and he was carried off instantly and brought inside the monastery.

There he met the abbot of the monastery and he became an old man…and when he asked him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your son Stratios who lived in the monastery twelve years ago, and I have come now because my departure from this world is near. After forty days I will go to the new world, where there is the comfortable eternity. So I want to spend these few days with the monastery fathers and the saints’ prayers, so that I may have there blessings before I depart." The abbot was so glad to see him that he hugged him and had the bells chime. The fathers came and they too were glad to see the anchorite saint…Then they gave him a separate cell into which he entered and closed the door. Then he left without anyone noticing, and went to the graves of John Clamacus and St. Anastas. He knelt down asking for the assistance of these saints prayers who preceded him two hundred years.

While he was praying and asking them insistently, the Lords’ angel appeared to him and called "Stratios. St. John and St. Anastas came here by spirit to bless you, oh you blessed and happy saint, before your departure from this world…. Right away he saw them and received there blessings, and they told him "We will be there when your soul departs from your body, and we will pray upon you in your cell that the fathers gave you inside the monastery.." They gave him peace and left. After that he went back to his cell.

He didn’t tell anyone about this except his disciple to whom he said, "My son after thirty seven days are completed open the door to my cell because I will be departed on that day from this transitory world, and don’t linger on counting these days so you can bury my body."

When the days passed and the time came, they knocked on the door, no one answered. Finally they broke the cell’s door and found him lying down and his face was covered with a scarf that was made of rough wool.

They were amazed to find next to him a censer with coal in it. Incense, which had a very good scent, was coming up from it and this was a sign that the anchorite fathers had come and prayed upon him. Then the fathers prayed very short prayers upon him and buried him, with great respect, with the saints fathers. An unexplainable herbal scent came from his body, and spread all around, it was indescribable. He became a blessing to many.


Unto the Lord is due all glory and honor and veneration from now and onto the ages of all ages………
AMEN

ABBA MISAEL THE ANCHORITE

Anba Isaac the Abbot of Calamon Monastery once said:

I was in the monastery one Sunday when a young boy of about twelve years old, came to me and said, “My Father Isaac, I ask you to take me as one of your sons and anoint me with monasticism and the monastic garb (Eskeem). I know you have the authority, and I have seen the monks’ obedience towards you and realized how much you are respected.”

I felt that he had come from a fruitful tree and that he was heartily looking for true worship. I answered him, “My son go and choose a cell for yourself. If you endure and have patience against tiredness, loneliness, temptation and constant prayers, you will be fit for monasticism.” I advised him also, to learn the scriptures, and memorize the psalms. I assigned one of the Fathers to tutor him and teach him the monastic order and conduct. I said to him, “Son, you are young and I want first to make sure that your parents don’t object your coming here. So tell me all about yourself.”

He began to tell me about his past. He said, “My parents were bad. They never prayed or had mercy towards anyone. They were old and had no children, and were deeply saddened because of this. They asked a righteous monk to pray on their behalf. The monk answered them and said, ‘Go and repent first to God and he will give you a son.’ Right away, they started praying expressing their repentance to God. They prayed and had mercy for the poor. They went to the village priest to teach them how to pray. Still, they couldn’t memorize anything except psalm fifty: “Have mercy on me …….”

They continued praying until the Lord responded to their wish, and I was born to them. They raised me well. They were well off and they owned many cows, sheep, and furnishings. They were generous with the poor and needy. When I was five years old, my father passed away, and a year later my mother passed away too. I remained alone. A little sum of money was left. When the Bishop realized this he took care of my belongings. I thought to myself and I said;

“Where is my father?”

“Where is my mother?”

“Where are all my ancestors?”

I realized that this world is transitional, as if nothing. Thus, I escaped and came here to the wilderness.”

Within a year, he succeeded in learning all the church rites and memorized the Holy Bible. He was so diligent in praying and fasting that the old monk, his tutor, came to me saying, “The youngster has learned all the church rules because he has the spirit of God.”

I, Isaac the poor, said to myself, “I have to put him to the test.” So I tested him. Then I put on him the holy monastic garments (eskeem), and gave him the name “Misael”. The Holy Spirit came upon him and his face shone with light….

He was solitary in his cell. No one knew anything about him. One night a monk came to me saying that he heard a voice of a man crying and scolding himself saying: “Oh my soul, I’ll let you know that the flesh doesn’t desire anything except worldly pleasures, and all this because of your sins. But if you desire salvation, escape from all of that.”

I realized that he was being tempted by satan with worldly pleasures. So, I went to Misael’s cell and knocked, when he opened the door I found that he was praying the midnight prayers. When he was done I asked him about what I had heard of that night. I asked, “Did the enemy come to you?” He then, bowed down to me and said, “The devil is aware of my movements, but he can’t stand listening to prayers.” Then I caught a glimpse of a book. It was “The Wisdom of Solomon,” and he had been reading from it. I acknowledged that he was wise.

Once, I went to visit him and I found him standing praying and supplicating God, saying;

“Oh My Lord, save me and look to my humility because my mother and my father have forsaken me but the Lord will take care of me.” Psalm 27:10

I knocked on his door, when he opened the door, I was amazed to see that his body had become like a piece of dry wood. His face had changed, his arms were like a palm trees dried branches. Nothing was left of him except his eyes through which he observed me. He stood silent, without a word. Feeling awfully depressed I could not help myself from crying. He said to me, “My Father Isaac, you ought to be happy.” I replied; “How can I not cry? How can I be as happy as when you came to the Monastery. You were young, gentle, good looking, graceful, and looked better than the sons of royalty, but now you look as if you are dead.” He answered me, “God preserved my eyesight and gave me the strength to stand up between his arms. My body was striving for worldly pleasures, so I oppressed it and it became that way.”

Then I assumed that he was a great saint, and I asked him to pray for me. He said to me, “Father I will tell you what I have seen in a dream; After three days, a group of strong men will come from Alexandria to the monastery. They will ask to have one of your monks. Don’t stand in their way, because they are the kings messengers, otherwise they will persecute the monks.” He then cried saying, “I am that monk. So don’t be troubled father, for the Lord is with me, and it is He who protects us. I will return to you afterwards. In the next year there will be a great destruction on the earth, but don’t be afraid for I will come to you and you will see God’s will.”

He left me confused of what he had said, and when I told the monks of it, they were amazed. A few days later, a group of people came from Alexandria asking for that blessed monk. It stated that he was to be carried away without any delay. I was sad and told them that he was not there. So they put their hands on me, I the poor Isaac, and tied me to a marble pillar with iron chains. They brought all the monks out of their cells, they wanted to take me with them to Alexandria. When St. Misael saw them doing that to me, he approached them and asked, “Who do you want?” They answered him, “Misael the young monk, because the King wants him.” Then he said to them, “Let that old man go and I will lead you to him.” So, they freed me and took St. Misael and left the monastery. Thus I lost trace of him, and mourned with my brethren for days.

A famine came over the land, many people passed away because of hunger. I had stored quantities of corn, grains, and beans,etc… in the monastery, because the Saint had informed me in advance. Thus I was saved from starvation.

It came to the governors’ knowledge that we had food in the monastery. He came, asked the food and sealed the monastery. When his demands became harsher, I cried and remembered what Anba Misael had said to me, “ I will come to you and save you from starvation.” When the famine became greater a group of people came to the monastery and when they saw the governor and his men, they asked them; “What do you want from this wilderness?” The Governor answered, “In this monastery there is food while there is no food on earth.” They ordered him to leave and not return to the monastery again or he would die by the sword. Right away the governor and his men left the monastery without harming anyone.

I,Isaac, turned back to find out who were those people who had come to help me and to give them some food but they replied, “You are the one who needs the food.” I stepped forward and asked their leader, “My brother, from where do you come?” One of them answered me and said, “We were delegated for this wilderness in the presence of the King and we do not allow any one to harm its people.”

I bowed down to the earth entreating them to tell me about themselves, but they departed into the wilderness. I stayed there trying to think of where they could be from. A youngster separated from them and took my hand and raised me up. He said to me, while holding my hand, “My father Isaac, truly God had mercy on me and rewarded me because of my obedience………I am your son Misael the one who you clothed with the monastic garb. And those were the people who came and took me with them. No one has seen me since that hour, except you today because of the promise I made you. They are heaven’s soldiers, and the city in which they spoke to you previously about, Alexandria, is Jerusalem. We come to this place and others where there is God’s obedience and fear.

I asked him, “My brother, can I become one of you, so I may rest from the responsibilities of caring for the monastery? There are a lot of shepherds.”

He answered and said, “You can not do that, because the authority was given to you from heaven. So take care of the brethren and manage their affairs. Do not be afraid my father Isaac, and have peace.” He also sent his peace to the brethren and asked me to send them his greetings. Then Anba Misael said to me, “Go to Anba Athanasios, the Bishop of the city in which I was raised, and ask him for the money in which my parents left me. Then take the money and build a church in the monastery in my name.”

Then he left and joined his companions. I immediately went, as I was advised, to see the Bishop. He gave me 900 weights of gold, 900 derhams of silver, 400 wool gowns, 100 leather gowns, and 500 cattle. I was amazed and returned back to the monastery. I built a delightful church in the cell in which Anba Misael used to live in. (Until now there is a church in the name of Anba Misael the Anchorite, in the monastery of Anba Samuel, in Kalamon.)

When the time came near to consecrate the church, I went to the monastery, and the cities of Upper Egypt and told them about the day in which we would consecrate the church………….Many people gathered for the consecration along with the Bishop of Fao, besides many other bishops, priests, and monks. They all attended the celebration of the church’s consecration. When we began the consecration prayer, I noticed a group enter the church. They were the same people whom I had met previously in the monastery. They entered the church carrying luminous sticks, which radiated a bright light. In the midst of the lights were crosses. I saw them and recognized them, but no one else could see them. I approached them and bowed in front of them, asking them to pray for me. I walked toward my son Misael and greeted him. They kept standing until the end of the consecration and until everyone had left. Then, they also left except for Anba Misael, who asked me; “My father Isaac, build a burial place for yourself in this church. Because in the coming year, on this same day, you will depart to the house of heavenly eternity. To the place which is prepared for you.

St. Misael the Anchorite departed and I did not see him again. I left and built a place for my burial in the northern side of the church.

The consecration day of the church was on the 10th of Bashens in the Coptic Year 396, during the reign of Decledianus.

Thus, I Isaac, saw St. Misael’s obedience towards God’s commandments, and his refusal of all worldly pleasures. He was like an angel, continuously praising the Lord of Lords.

Our church celebrates the feast of St. Misael on the 13th of Kiahk.


May his blessings be with us all…
Glory to the Holy Trinity….

Amen.

ANBA HERMINA THE ANCHIORITE

ST. ABAHOR ALEBEAHTI TOLD US THE STORY OF ANBA HERMINA THE ANCHORITE OF MOUNT KAW. HE SAID:

I used to live with Anba Youhanna and Anba Yousab at Mount of Asfaht. One day as we were plaiting palm leaves, an angelic man with an illuminated face like sun, approached us. We bowed down to him and he said, Fear not, I am John the Evangelist, the disciple of Our Lord Jesus Christ the Living God.

Quit now, Abahor , and head towards the inner wilderness where you will find a righteous Saint called Anba Hermina (of the hat) for this is his name.

He is from the border of the city of Bahnasa, and he spent sixty years in the wilderness worshiping God and leading a life of great corporal austerity.

I asked him to tell me about his biography, and the Beloved St. John started saying:

Since he was ten years of age, while he was pasturing his fathers sheep he was constant in praying, fasting daily until the evening except on Saturdays and Sundays. He was kind and merciful especially to strangers. If a stranger passed by he would receive him in hospitality and invited him to take a rest. He used to serve them in joy and gave them water from the well. He would rather carry their luggage and walk with them a mile before he returned back to his sheep feeling happy and satisfied.

When he was perfected in virtues I went together with St. Peter, to him, disguised as passerby monks. He was pasturing his sheep when he saw us and hurried to receive us in joy. He asked us to have a rest in the village until the morning but we refused saying that we would prefer to spend the night in the monastery with the monks. He asked to go with them saying that the Lord said in the gospel: There is no man that has left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospels but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time....and in the world to come eternal life(Mark 10:29-30)

Then we asked him if he wished to be a monk. He replied positively and asked to pray on his behalf to know the Lords will. We informed Anba Jacob the abbot of the monastery with the story. I took the scissors and cut his hair and we dressed him in monastic vestments. Then he partook of the Holy Sacraments. We prayed on his behalf to be blessed and to be saved from satan's conspiracy. We instructed him to stay with Anba Jacob to guide him and to benefit from him as his spiritual mentor. I (St. John) recommended Anba Jacob to lead him into monastic life and teach him of the satanic fights, until we return back. Then we greeted them and left.

Anba Hermina, then entered his entered solitary cell and started to fast, pray and meditate. Anba Jacob rejoiced to watch his progress in ascetic life. When the fullness of time was come, I came and knocked at the door of his cell. He opened the door, and prostrated as the habit of monks. Then we prayed together. Then I asked him to follow me and go into the upper mount of Kaw mountain which is known as the mountain of joy and comfort.

St. Hermina came to the blessed father Anba Jacob the abbot of the monastery and prostrated before him and said ,Forgive me father and absolve me, for with your permission I am going to mount Kaw in upper Egypt to acquire the blessings from you and the Saints. Anba Jacob blessed him, and he headed with me toward the mount. On our way we met with an elder called Anba Bishai, who invited us to rest until the morning.

Then we kept going on our way until sunset when we saw an illuminated cloud. At this point St. Hermina looked at me and said, Father, I havent known your name yet. I said to him, I am John son of Zebedee and when we dressed you in the monastic vestments I was accompanied by St. Peter, St. Paul, and King David the prophet.

We then reached the Mount of Al Noclon which is known as the Mount of the Rock. We heard voices of hymns and praises for it was the ninth hour of the Saturday evening. We stayed there until Sunday morning. The tomb of Elisah was at that situation.

We started walking towards the South until we reached the Mount of Asiut. We penetrated deeply through the wilderness for two days until we reached a very deep valley where we discovered a high cave, beneath which was a well and a palm tree. I said to Hermina, You will live here, and eat of the dates of this palm tree, and drink of the water of this well. Then I greeted him and left.

St. Hermina was constant in praying and in many high spiritual exercises. His prostrations were

as much as twelve hundred by day and a similar number by night. Many angels, especially archangel Michael used to visit him to strengthen and comfort him; as well as the other saints who dwelt in the wilderness worshipping God.

St. Hermina was persevering in his spiritual struggle until hi body was weakened and his eyes grew hollow. Nevertheless, he had many visions of the places of repose which the Lord has prepared for the saints and the righteous. Many times he was lifted up in the spirit to the heavenly Jerusalem.



The devil could not endure the saints behavior, envying him for the crowns he was going to acquire in the heavenly Jerusalem. So he came to him disguised as an angel and said to him, Arise, Hermina and move to live next to your village, near St. Anba Jacob. St. Hermina who knew through the Holy Spirit that it was a satanic device, said to him, Who are you? Satan said, I am Michael who stands in front of the glorified Lord. St. Hermina said to him, If you are really what you say, then join me in praying before we leave. The adversary said to him that he could not pray isolated from his legion.

Then St. Hermina said, My Lord Jesus Christ lives, you will not quit before I know who you are. Then he started praying and by the time a cloud of fire descended from heaven and overwhelmed the devil who blazed with fire and cried until he was rescued. Nevertheless he warned St. Hermina saying, I will not stop fighting you together with all who are similar to you, until the end of the world. Then he vanished.

The devil became infuriated, so he gathered his soldiers and instructed them to fight St. Hermina. He claimed that Hermina contradicted him and did not the devils will in the wilderness. He asked them to do their best to plunder him of his glory.

But the angel of the Lord came to St. Hermina to strengthen him and comfort him. He asked him to go fight the enemy because the Lord would support him.

The devil was disguised as a respectable king and sent seventy of his soldiers to St. Hermina. They knocked on his door and he opened while he was reciting the psalms and crossed them with the sign of the holy cross and said, Deliver me, O my God out of the hand of the wickedYou are my hope O Lord God. Instantly Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel came and beat them so savagely that they cried appealing for mercy. They said that they were instructed by their chief and would not return back again. The devil was frustrated and he vanished like the wind with his soldiers.

St. Hermina rejoiced and sang with David the king the psalm, I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. They are brought down and fallen but we are risen and stand upright. The devil would never despair. He blew up a strong storm of sand that covered the Saints cell with sand and ashes.

St. Hermina raised his eyes towards heaven and asked, O Lord the compassionate Who listened to the prayers of three young men in the burning fiery furnace and saved them, and Who listened to the prayers of Daniel the prophet while he was in the den of lions and saved him. Yes O Lord Who listened to our father Abraham and to Joseph while he was in jail and saved them, hearken to me O God and send me your angel. Archangel Michael came quickly, bonded the devil and his soldiers and said to St. Hermina, Behold, the Lord has delivered your enemy unto your hands, so do whatever you find suitable with him. Then he ascended to heavens.

Then St. Hermina said to the devil and his soldiers, The Lord lives, you will not be released until you carry away all the sands which covered the cell. The devil was transfigured into a lion and began digging the sands and removing it afar until the cell was clear of sands. Nevertheless he did not leave him before punishing him for the tribulations he used to bring them to the saints.

Then, the devils groaned to their master saying, Didnt we tell you never try to tempt the man of God, St. Hermina lest he reacts against you as St. Babnoubna did with you when he let the rock of Mount Toukh crush you !!

Then they appealed to St. Hermina in the name of the reconciliation and peace he had acquired, to set them free, promising not to that place again.

He glorified God saying : O Lord, king of heavens, earth and all creation, we thank and praise You, for You gave us the power to tread on serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy.

Then St. Hermina crossed the river and turned his face toward Mount Kaw, where he heard a voice coming out of the saints bodies saying, Blessed is your coming to us today O Brother Hermina we glorify our Lord, the Miracle Doer.

He stayed there praying unceasingly, day and night. At sunset he used to eat some fruit of a tree located there and it was like honey to his taste. Then he drank some water, blessed himself with he sign of the cross, and gave thanks to God. God visited and strengthened him.

Then St. John The Evangelist said, Behold Abahor, I have told you the biography of the man of God St. Hermina. So, raise up and go to him for he has advanced in age, and his body is worn out from his severe asceticism, and he dwells in a deserted place in Mount Kaw. I have told you his story to write it so that it may be a source of consolation to whoever listens to it. Then I greeted him and left.

I (Abahor) left right away heading towards the man of God St. Hermina. I penetrated deeply in the wilderness for almost eighteen miles. Then there in a low valley I saw the blessed Anba Hermina erect by the wall and with his hands raised towards heaven. They were shining like lightened lamps. He smelt like perfumed incense.

I approached and knelt down before him. He blessed and welcomed me saying, Well done your coming to me today brother Anba Hermina The Lord has sent you to me.

When I inquired of him about his biography, he added nothing more than what St. John the Evangelist told me. I stayed with him for two days,

then I returned back to my place.

Some days later I went to the Saint and when I reached the rock I fell into a deep lethargy through which I saw a gathering of angels and saints in radiant garments praising and blessing St. Anba Hermina. When I awoke, I kept walking to his cell then knocked on the door. He opened the door while he was spiritually joyful and his face illuminative. I prostrated and greeted him. Then we conversed the Lords benefactions. He said to me, Brother Abahor, we have to struggle more because satans snares are innumerable. We have to put in mind that we are expatriated and should weep for our sins. Then I returned back delighted in my cave in Ekhmim.

Six months later, St. John the Beloved came to me in my cave, dressed in a radiant vestment. I hurried and knelt down before him. He blessed me and said to me, Go now to your friend Anba Hermina for his departure is growing near, to be relieved from this worlds tribulations. Then he greeted me and left.

After praying, I went to the town of Kaw, and kept walking until I reached the wilderness. I looked about, and there I saw a huge black bull with two big horns rising in the mountain. I came near and crossed myself with the sign of the cross. It then transformed into a whirlwind then vanished. I glorified and praised God for saving me from the adversary.

Then I went deep through the wilderness and found St. Hermina kneeling down praying. I knew that he had lead a life of great corporal austerity for forty days. I was so impressed that I started crying because I felt my spiritual struggle and order were not to be compared with his.

I looked and behold; Our Lord Jesus Christ was descending on a Cherubimic vehicle among the angels praises, and called St. Hermina saying Blessed are you my selected who traded with the talents and gained many more. Behold I make your name circulated all over the world and I have prepared for you three crowns, one for your celibacy, the second for your expatriation and the third for your weariness for my sake. So, go now towards north to have the blessings of the relics of the saints and then return towards south to spend the rest of your life on Mount Kaw.

ANBA MOUSA THE ANCHORITE

ANBA MOUSA THE ANCHORITE In the Habeeb Valley (Sheheet wilderness), there was an ascetic monk who was satisfied with the smallest of necessities. He used to make his clothes from palm tree leaves and luffa. He tended to his prayers withstanding the heat of the day and enduring the cold in winter. He used to eat once every few days. He never knew the days of the week and his knowledge of the moon was how he told time. God enlightened his eyes to discover a meadow that had olive and palm trees. He used to take what fell from them to meet his needs and he would drink from the rainfall. The beasts befriended him and they enjoyed his company. When it was time for him to pray, he would bless them with the sign of the cross and they would leave him. When there was a drought the beasts would gather and stand in front of him screaming with different voices as if they were asking him to pray for the rain to fall. Also if any of these beasts or birds were sick they would come to him and would be healed from there illness .

The saint led that way of life for thirty five years. When the evil enemy saw the saints' patience and his friendliness with the beasts in the wilderness he envied him and said; "How could he have conquered those things and he is human and I am from fire and light!! I must put him under my obedience and make him submit to my will." Right away he disguised himself as an elderly old monk with a white beard. He was clothed in goat skins, his head was uncovered and his hair fell on his shoulders. In his hand was a stick in which he used to lean on to walk. He walked little by little from one valley to another and didn't pray. Anba Mousa was contemplating, "Who is that old ascetic man that has many years of worshipping, asceticism and has a lot of patience? He must be righteous." Anba Mousa went closer to him but he pretended as if he wasn't able to see him because of his old age. The old man didn't answer him with even a word and pretended that he was sleeping that night. Then saint Anba Mousa prayed and when he mentioned the Master Jesus' name and blessed himself with the sign of the cross, the old man disappeared. Anba Mousa thought that God's love had hid him from his sight and whenever he talked to him he never answered and he stayed like that three days.

ON THE FOURTH NIGHT HE ANSWERED HIM. . . . Anba Mousa asked him, "What do you want my saintly father, you who satisfied God with your deeds? Blessed are you because of the place which is prepared for you." From the time the beasts had seen the old man they had run away. Anba Mousa wondered what was wrong. The old man began asking Anba Mousa about his name, for how long he had been in the wilderness, what he had been eating, drinking and wearing. Then he told him, "My son, God chose you to tell me about yourself so that I tell you my life story." Anba Mousa answered him, "My father I am from a district in Alexandria called Damsheesh and I was born there. My name is Mousa. When I was thirteen years old I walked toward the Sheheet wilderness and I lived with a monk in a small cell. He taught me monasticism and when I completed twenty years old I thought that this world vanishes and the eternity is what lasts, and no one can reach it except through Gods' obedience. Struggling to become closer to Him I left everything and I came to this wilderness. I have been here for many years and I haven't seen any person except you. Without a doubt you are from another wilderness. I noticed for the third day now that I haven't seen you praying. I would've liked to learn from you and have your blessing." The old man answered Anba Mossa saying, "I'll let you know my son that I was young and I had a lot of money, enjoying my life eating and drinking. I felt no mercy for the poor, and longed for adultery. I spent my money on this and I also stole money from others. I testified falsely against many people. A long time after that I saw that I was going to suffer in eternity, so I brought all my money and gave it away to the poor wishing for the eternity. I went to Barka, in Libya, where I lived 40 years up until today, and God accepted me and forgave my sins. When my time came closer I asked God to send someone to bury my body and pray for me because I don't know how to pray. I don't know the Corban, Holy Bread, and anything of the Christian rules. God forgave me because I gave my money and sought only Him. My home is in Taowona one of the five cities in Barka next to Alexandria. God showed me your life story and your place. So I came to you for I have only forty days before I die. I know the place where I'm going to be buried. Stand up my son and follow me, I will show it to you."

The saint thought he was being honest so he believed him but he didn't know that Satan, the enemy of goodness and humanity, was deceiving him. He stood up and followed him. While they were walking in the wilderness they saw a castle in the distance, like one of the kings' castles. When the old man and the saint came closer they saw that the castle was on a hill overlooking a beautiful meadow. He said to the saint, "My son my money is buried here. So bury my bones here and the money will become your inheritance. And an old man like me will come to you and he will bury your bones. After ten days I will pass away, but be careful from Satan the enemy of truth and justice . . . "

When the saint arrived at the doorway of the castle, he wondered "how did a castle end up in this lonely wilderness?" When he looked he saw a girl dressed in royal clothes. He backed up with fear. The old man told him "Take it easy my son. I'll let you know why I brought you to this place, because you are the one who is going to bury my body in this dust, but now listen to my sayings and beware of disobeying, otherwise you will lose all what you worked for in the heat and cold. This castle was built by my parents and I was raised here, and as I told you I had a lot of money and little mercy. I became ascetic, I had a women. But after I became ascetic she brought me a beautiful girl and told me that she was mine and then she passed away. After that I raised her up very well until she became as you see. I didn't find anyone as qualified as you to be her husband . . .

My son listen to me and don't disobey because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also were married and it wasn't a sin . ." Anba Mousa screamed out saying, "Woe to me! Woe to me! How can I do that?" When the saint saw the old man getting closer to his death he said to him "What should I do now when you die?" He answered him "I give you this castle and everything in it and this girl as a wife for you." The old man (Satan) pretended that he had died. The saint ran and carried his body to the place he showed him and buried him, but when he tried to enter the castle a windstorm came out from the castle forcing him back and then threw him down on his back and he fell motionless, as if he were dead in that instant. When he regained consciousness he found no trace of the castle but found himself in the wilderness. He became irritated and instantly felt hungry and asked for food. So he took from the grass he use to eat but it became very sour in his mouth and he couldn't eat it. The beasts that had been friends with him were afraid of him. The cold of the night bothered him and he became lost and afraid. He realized right then that the old man had been Satan the enemy of the human race.

He said, "Woe to me, I wish God would give me time so that I may repent." When hunger and thirst, heat and coldness overcame him he stood up and went back to the world. . . . Satan again met him pictured as an old man riding a donkey and asked him, "Where are you going?" He answered him, "I am going to the city of Alexandria." The old man replied, "I am too." He felt happy especially because he had gotten him for the second time, making him leave the wilderness so he wouldn't repent and cry for his sins to obtain God's mercy. Because God has mercy for all those who repent and returns from their sins. So he made him ride his donkey and fed him from his food and his water and hastened him out of the wilderness, where he was worshipping the Lord God. Then he brought him to a village near to Alexandria called Halla and told him, "This village is called 'El Mahoor El Owal' and it has a lot of grape vines, figs and carob. Also it's people love strangers." then he left him . . .

The saint went to that village. He found a well outside the village and he stood watching the people drinking from it. Satan appeared as a picture of a very beautiful woman dressed in old clothes and she carried a vessel which she wanted to fill from the well. She asked him about his story. He told her that he was from the wilderness and that he was hungry and thirsty. She told him, "Come to my house, I will feed you and let you spend the night." He followed her until they entered the house. She served him with food and drink and she wore nice clothes that looked like royal clothing. She came to him and found that he had eaten as much as he needed, she told him, "I see in you remnants of repentance and I don't doubt that you were ascetic." He answered her, "Yes, but Satan came to me in a picture of an old man and brought me out of the wilderness." When she asked him about that, he told her everything that had happened to him. She began to ease on him the idea of marriage and explained to him her life and that she was a descendent of kings. Her parents had passed away and she was lonely and had a lot of money in her city. When Mousa began to feel sympathetic, she told him, "There is only one thing left that you have to know. I am a Jewish woman from priests tribes. They don’t know Jesus and they deny that he came to the world. . . And there is no way except if you convert to my religion.."

He said, "I’m not going to obey you in this and there is no way that I’m going to deny the name of my God Jesus Christ." She told him that he is not the only one that has denied Jesus and convinced him with a false vision about how they are numerous. She kept deceiving him until at last he agreed. Then she told him "I want you to cut your hair and your nails and take this clothes off your body and wear new clothes after washing with the water I'll let the priests bless for you." With this and more she kept deceiving him until she was certain that he believed in her. . .

She told him, "Let’s go to my city where my money is. ." When half the day passed, they were in a very frightening wide wilderness wasteland full of lions. . . The saint got very thirsty and asked for water but didn’t find any. . . She told him, "Remain in your place and I will climb this mountain to see if there is any water there and then I will call you to come. . . " He was standing at the foot of the mountain when she climbed up and began calling him, "Oh you weak saint. You who worked hard all his days and lived in the wilderness and now you are embracing Satan and I am one of his soldiers. You denied Jesus your God and my father Satan has authority over the human race and he is the one who didn’t let the Jews believe in Him until this day. Woe to you! And happiness and gladness to me. . . I deceived you and I meant to get you away from adoration and your death in this desolate wilderness which you have no way to return from . . . " then she disappeared from him.

He looked around wondering which way to take and for water to drink. But he didn’t find any and became bewildered about what happened to him through the bad enemy Satan's temptation. He returned to himself with repentance. He blamed himself saying to himself. . . "Woe to me because you left the way to life and you took the way to eternal Hades , Woe to me because I desired this world and left the eternity how great is that loss? . . Woe to me. Because you denied the name of your Lord. . . Did you forget that he is the one who created you and granted you a mind and ability to vocalize, the understanding to differentiate between what is useful and what is harmful?"

I contradicted my God and I followed my carnal desires. . . .I obeyed my bad thoughts and I asked for this fleeting world." He raised up his voice crying and said as the righteous Job;

"May the day perish on which I was born, And the night in which it was said, 'A male child is conceived.' May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it. May darkness and the shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not come into the number of the months. Oh, may the night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it! Job3:3 6-7

"Why didn't I think about that old man, the one who changed my route to life and how could I have walked with him. Woe to me for looking at that castle and that girl. . . Woe to me for leaving the wilderness by the deception of the archevil and for listening to the woman talk, the one who was of his soldiers and his deception…" Then he raised his hands up to heaven and cried and hit his forehead on the ground. He rolled in the dust and cried and begged God at length to forgive him and accept him. . .

And because of God's enormous mercy, He looked down from His heaven and heard his sighs and crying and the confession of his sins and also his desire for a repentant life. Because God accepts everyone who comes to Him with a repentant heart. . . So he sent his angel to console him and tell him, "After three days you will pass away and you will join your fathers. I will be sending you Samuel the saint who satisfied God with his good deeds to bury your body." Then the angel left.

While he was looking at the wilderness he saw in the distance a monk coming toward him. He went to him and met him. He knelt down on his feet and said to him, "My father, God's mercy sent you to me and now I'm sure he accepted me and forgave my sins. And they blessed each other and he told him everything up until this hour from the Satan's temptation and how he appeared to him in the castle and at the well and he didn't hide anything from him. . .

And he said to saint Anba Samuel, "Since I lived in the wilderness, and I had been there since the time of Anba Benjamin the Patriarch in the third year of his leadership, I didn't receive communion." Anba Samuel was a priest, he told him, "Get up my son and follow me." and he followed him and in a little while we came to a church built on the very finest, beyond imagination. Its door was open, but nobody was in it or around it. We entered and we prayed and I was, me Mousa the weak, in awe over all this. Anba Samuel asked me, "My son do you know this place?" "No, my father, I don't."

I, Samuel, answered him, "This place is ten days walking distance for those who are serious in their walking." Then a group came to this place and lit their lamps. They smoothed a good looking cover, they changed their clothes, and the priest began celebrating the liturgy. Then they received communion and we shared with them. Saint Mousa asked, "My father who are those people?" I answered, "Don't worry or think about anything except in God himself, but those people are the fathers of this wilderness and they are spread out in it. On this day every year they gather here and they raise up the Holy Corban (sacrifice) and receive communion. This church was built by the good king Aghabios, who was king of Alexandria and the five cities. He was a believer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the people used to come to this church regularly and celebrate the liturgy but when the sins of the people increased this church disappeared from their eyes and became for the saints house and cemetery . . .

When I finished my service, I Samuel, the writer of this biography, Saint Mousa told me, "My father show me the place of those saints bones." I took him and we walked together to that place. I opened the door for him and we entered. I was looking to him and he knelt down putting his head down on the body of one of the saints to receive a blessing from him. When he delayed I entered and called him but he did not answer, so I was sure right away that he had passed away. I covered him and I took a blessing from him. I closed the door as it was and I wrote his biography for his remembrance. I am the weak Samuel, I wrote this biography by my hand writing in the Tomas in Greek and entrusted it to a faithful man traveling from El Wahaat 'Egypt '. I asked him to put it in St. Mark Church in Alexandria so the people could see what St. Mousa had suffered from the enemy Satan temptation and how he returned and repented and asked God for mercy. Because God never wastes his recompensation for whoever works under his obedience and refuses Satan's advice. I also wrote in it the church that I had mentioned and the directions to it so we don't stop the church memory.

Glory, honor, blessing, praise, ablation , due on to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit now and always and forever…
Amen

ANBA KARRAS (in Ethiopia He is Called Abune Kiros)

ANBA KARRAS THE ANCHORITE FROM THE TRANSCRIPTS OF ST. MARY MONASTERY (BARAMOS) St. Bimoa was saying , "I'll let you know my brethren what happened one day. I heard a voice calling me three times, "Bimoa, Bimoa, Bimoa." I paid attention. That voice was a heavenly one, because that voice wasn’t familiar to me. No one called my name several times. I raised my eyes up to heaven and said, "Speak out Lord, because your servant is listening."

The voice told me, "Get up Bimoa and hurry to the wilderness where you will meet Anba Karras, so that you may take his blessing because he is precious to me more than anyone, and my peace be with you." So I got up and left my church and walked alone into the wilderness with great gladness. I didn't know the way, but I knew for sure that God, who ordered me would lead me.

Three days passed while I was walked on my way alone. On the fourth day I reached one of the caves, the door was closed with a big stone. I walked toward the doorway, and I knocked on the door according to the monks custom and said, "Aghabi (love). Bless me my holy father."

Right then I heard a voice saying to me, "It is good to be here today Bimoa, Priest of the church of Gabal Cheheat. The one who was worthy to shroud the blessed St. Hilliaria, the daughter of the great King Zenon."

Then he opened the door for me and I entered. We greeted each other with a holy kiss and then we sat talking together about God's glories and greatness. I asked him, "My blessed father, is there any other saint who resembles you in this mountain?"

He looked at my face and sighed, then he said to me," My beloved father there is in the inner wilderness a blessed Saint that the world isn’t worthy of one of his footsteps. And he is… Anba Karras. "

Right then I got up and asked him, "So who are you?" He answered me, "My name is Simaan ElKallaa. For sixty years, and up until today I haven't seen a human face. I eat on every Saturday one piece of bread which I find out on the stone, the one in which you saw outside the cave."

After taking his blessing, I walked into the wilderness for three more days. All the while praying and praising until I reached another cave. I knocked on the door and said, "Your blessings on me blessed father."

He answered me, " It is good that you came to us oh you Saint of God, Anba Bimoa. The one who was worthy to shroud the holy body of St. Hillaria the daughter of King Zenon. Enter with peace." I entered and we sat talking, I asked him, "I understood that there was another saintly blessed father who is like you." He paused and sighed saying,

"Woe to me, I'll let you know my father that in this wilderness there is a great saint whose prayer can even stop the heavenly anger. Truly he is a partner of the angels."

I asked him, "What is your name holy father?" He answered, "Abbamoud ElKallaa, and I have been in this wilderness for 99 years. I live off of those palm trees, the kind that have dates, and I thank the Lord Jesus."

After he blessed me and I left with joy and peace. I walked for a while, and then I could not walk because I could not see my way. After a while I opened my eyes and found myself walking in front of a cave inside a rock on the mountain. I walked toward the door and I knocked and said, "Aghabi."

Right then a voice from inside spoke to me saying, "It is good that you came today Anba Bimoa God’s saint, the one who was worthy to shroud the holy body of St. Hillaria the daughter of the great King Zenon. "

I entered the cave and stood staring at him for a long time, because he was venerable and full of awe. He was a very luminous person, and God’s grace was on his face. He was full of light and of average height. He had a long beard with only a few black hairs in it and he was wearing a simple tunic. He was thin, had a soft voice and was holding a walking stick in his hand.

He said to me: "You came to me today and brought death with you, and I have been waiting for you for a long time my beloved one." Then I asked him, "What is your name blessed father?"

He answered saying, "My name is Karras."

I asked him, "For how long have you been in this wilderness? " He answered, "For 57 years I haven't seen a human face, and I have been waiting for you anxiously and happily. "

I stayed with him for a day at the end of which Anba Karras became sick with a high fever. He cried and sighed and said to me, "..and what I was afraid of all my life came to me. Oh Lord, how can I escape from your face and how can I hide? Truly how fearful is that hour. Let it be according to your mercy oh my Lord and not according to my sins."

When the sun rose on the next day Anba Karras was lying down and could not move. And behold a great light, greater than the sunlight was coming through the door. Then entered a very radiant person wearing white clothes as bright as the sun and in his right hand was a luminous cross. I was sitting at Anba Karras' feet and I was afraid and surprised. But this luminous person stepped forward toward Anba Karras and put the cross on his face. He spoke with him a lot and then gave him peace and left. I stepped toward our father Anba Karras to inquire about that person, who had all that glory. He answered with all gladness , "This is our Lord and Master Jesus Christ and this is his custom with me. He comes every day and blesses me, talks to me and then he leaves."

I asked him, "Oh my blessed father I desire to be blessed by His glory."

He answered me and said, "Before you leave this place you will see the Lord Jesus in His glory and He will bless you and talk with you also."

When we reached the seventh day of the month of Abeeb I found Anba Karras raising his eyes which were full of tears up to heaven. He sighed deeply and said to me, "There is a great pillar that fell in Upper Egypt and the earth lost a blessed Saint. The world was not worthy of one of his footsteps. He is Saint Anba Shenouda the Archimandrite. I saw his soul going up to heaven surrounded by angels’ hymns and I heard crying and mourning rising from all of Upper Egypt's earth. The monks gathered around his holy body taking a blessing from him and his body was luminous."

When I heard that, I memorized the date and kept it in mind, it was on the 7th of Abeeb that Anba Shenouda passed away. On the next day, 8th of Abeeb, Anba Karras' illness worsened and in the middle of the day a great light appeared that filled the cave. The Saviour of the world entered preceded by the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and many angels with six wings, accompanied by the voices of prayer and hymns here and there, and with the smell of incense. I was sitting at Anba Karras' feet while our Lord Jesus Christ in all his glory was sitting at the head of St. Anba Karras, who held our Saviors right hand. He asked him for me, "My Lord and my God bless him because he came from very far cities and a long distance for this day."

The Lord looked at me and said, "May my peace be with you Bimoa, what you saw and heard you will write and preach. But you my beloved Karras every human that knows your life story and mentions your name on earth, will have my peace and I will count him with the Martyrs and the Saints. Every person that presents wine, corban, incense, oil or candles in your memory, I will reward him twofold in the kingdom of heaven. Any one who feeds the hungry or gives drink to the thirsty, or clothes to the naked or welcomes a stranger in your name’s sake, I will reward him double in my kingdom. And who writes your holy biography I will write his name in the Book of Life. Anyone who shows mercy in your memory day I will give him what the eye has never seen and what the ear has never heard and what the heart never felt. Now my beloved Karras I want you to ask me for something that I can do for you before your departure."

Anba Karras asked him, " My Lord I have been praying the psalms day and night and I wished to see David the prophet while I am still in the flesh. "

In the blink of an eye David came holding his harp in his hand and he was singing the psalm,

"This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad.." pslam117 v.24

Anba Karras said, "I want to hear the ten cords together with the tune and melody." David moved his harp and sang,

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." pslam116 v.15

While David was singing his psalms with his beautiful voice, and while the Saint was very pleased, his soul departed from his blessed body to the bosom of our Good Saviour who took it and presented it to the Archangel Michael.

Then, I Bimoa kissed the flesh of St. Anba Karras and buried him. The Glorious Lord pointed to me to leave the cave, which I did. Then Lord Jesus Christ surrounded by His angels left in front of the spirit, among songs and hymns. We left the body in the cave, and then the Glorious Lord put His hand on the cave and it became as if it had never had a door that could be opened. All of them raised up to heaven in happiness. I stayed standing alone in that place until that beautiful view vanished from my sight, then I closed my eyes to contemplate the bright light and the beautiful view. When I opened my eyes I found myself in front of the cave of Anba Abbamoud ElKallaa. I stayed three days and then I left him and I went to Anba Samaan ElKallaa. I stayed with him three days and then I left and returned to Shaheet Mountain where my church is. There I met all the brethren and told them the life story of St. Anba Karras the Great Anchorite, and his sayings about Anba Shenouda, the Archimandrite’s, departure.

After five days we got a message from Upper Egypt saying that St. Anba Shenouda the Archimandrite passed away on the same day that Anba Karras had seen.

May the blessings of St. Mary the Mother of Light and St. Anba Shenouda the Archimandrite and Anba Karras the Anchorite be with us all.

Glory be to God for ever and ever....

AMEN.

The Life of Abba Onnophrios Anchorite

The life and the conversations of our holy father, who was glorious in every way, "Abba Onnophrios" the anchorite who's life ended on the sixteenth day of Paone in the peace of God. May God bless us. Amen.

A certain brother who was an anchorite and who's name was Papnoute made a discourse to the ?God loving brethren and these where the words which he addressed to them:
I, your brother, was thinking one day and determined to go into the inner desert so I might see if there were any brethren who where monks living in the most remote parts of it. I marched four days and four nights and I neither ate bread or drank water. I marched on into the inner desert, at the end of the further number of days I journeyed into the mountain. When four days had passed by I felt pain and I stretched out my hands to heaven and prayed. I saw a man coming toward me and he gave me strength. In short, when four days had passed I journeyed on into the desert. Straightway I looked and I saw a man in the distance. He was an exceedingly terrifying object for his hair was spread over his body like that of a panther. He was naked, his private parts were covered with leaves. When he had come close to me I was afraid, I went up on a pinnacle of the mountain thinking that he was a man in delirium. When he had come he cast himself for a little time under the shadow of the pinnacle of the mountain. He was greatly distressed because of the pain which he was suffering. He was in great danger of dying of hunger and thirst. He lifted up his eyes to the pinnacle of the mountain and when he saw me he cried out saying, "Come down to me oh you holy man I also am a man of the mountain like you and I am living in the desert because of my sins ." I said to myself, "You art a friend of God." I sat down before him to tell me his name and he said unto me, "Onnophrios is my name and behold I have lived in this desert for sixty years. I wander about in the mountains like the wild animals and I never see any man who recognizes me. I lived at one time in a habitation of monks in the mountain of Shmun of the Thebaid and the name of that monastery was Erete. We all lived together, each of us were of the same mind and peace dwelt in our midst. We lived with each other a life of quiet contemplation, giving glory onto God. I passed nights in vigil with them and I learned the rules of God with them. There chief men where perfect as Angles of the Lord. I heard them speaking about our father Elijah the Thishbite, saying that he was completely powerful in God. There lived in this desert John the Baptist, who of all those who have been born of women, none have arisen who is greater than he. He lived in the desert place until the day of the manifestation of Israel. I said to him, "My fathers, are not then those who are in the desert more excellent than we are? For behold we see each other daily, we partake of the sacraments together and we make use of the food which is prepared for us. When we are thirsty we take water to drink, when we are weak our brethren reach out there hands to help us. When we wish for the loan of a vessel to eat from we make use of those belonging to each other for the love of God, but where shall those who are living in the desert for Gods sake find man if trouble come upon them? If they are hungry where can they find food? If they are thirsty where can they find water to drink?"
He replied, " When they began to lead the life of the anchorite they rejoice exceedingly because of hunger and thirst and the excellence of there manner of life. The adversary who fights with them to tempt them thereby does not wish them to continue the life of the anchorite for he knows the reward is great which they will receive from God when they shall come forth from the body. When they are preaching ascetic labors, the compassion of God comes upon them and He makes the Angel to serve them in respect to there food. He brings for them water out of the rock for it is written in Isaiah 40:31,
"Those who abide patiently in the Lord renew there strength they shall spread out there wings like the eagles in flight they shall fly away and shall not fall. They shall journey and shall not suffer hunger. " He said water shall be brought to them out of the rock. When they suffer hunger he will make the grass which is in the field to be sweet to there mouths even as honey is sweet. If tribulation comes upon them or danger rise up against them straightway they spread out their hands and they pray to King Jesus, until there comes to them speedily His help which he sends forth and straightway he strengthens them. Because of the integrity of their heart in respect to him." Have you never heard that which is written, "The Lord will not forsake his people, and the patient endurance of the miserable man shall not fail utterly?" and again, "The poor man cries out and the Lord hears and delivers him in all his tribulation the Lord gives onto every man according to what he has suffered . Blessed is the man who shall do the will of God upon the earth! I say unto thee that the angels shall serve him from the time he when enters the body and they shall comfort him at all times in his needs." And to me your brother, when I had heard these things from these perfect man of God they, became like unto honey which is sweet in my belly. A mighty ecstasy took place within me when I became like onto those who's minds are carried away unto another world. I rose up straightway and took a few bread cakes with me, sufficient for the four days journey, so that I might eat them until I arrived at the place which God should appoint for me. When I had come forth from the monastery I looked and I saw a being of light before me. I was afraid, I thought in my mind that I would turn back to the place to which I came first of all and remain there. When he knew that I was afraid he said unto me "Fear not for I am the angel that dwelt with thee and has traveled with you from your childhood. This stewardship which the Lord has appointed to thee, you shall be able to fulfill." When I had come onto the mountain and I had journeyed in the desert for six or seven miles I saw that there was a cave. I turned towards it for I saw that there was a man inside it. A very great saint of God came out to me, now his form or behavior was goodly, there was a fine graciousness over his countenance. When I had seen him, I made homage unto him. He raised me up and he saluted me. He said onto me, " You are Onnophrios my fellow worker in the Lord, come in, the Lord be with thee. You shall succeed in the good work where unto He has invited you".
I went inside and I sat down there with him for a few days. I learned the rules of the doctrine of God from him and he taught me the regulation which governed the life of the monk in the desert. When he saw that I was acquainted with the hidden and terrible fighting which exists in the desert, he said unto me, "Rise up my son and let me take thee to a desolate place in the inner desert and you shall abide therein by thyself for Gods sake, since God has appointed thee to this work, you must dwell in the desert. " Straightway he rose up and journeyed with me into the desert for a distance of four days journey. At the end of the four days we came to a small hut and he said unto me "This is the place that the lord has appointed thee to live in." And he sat down with me for a month of days until I understood the good work which it was meant for me to do. Afterwards he departed from me and we never saw each other again until this year when I saw him once on the day whereon he lied down the body. I buried him inside the place wherein he was, and I "Papnoute" said unto him "My good and beloved father at the beginning when you first come to this place did you suffer from the weather?" and the blessed old man said onto me, "I suffered greatly on several occasions from hunger and thirst. The heat outside in the day time and the great cold by night, and my flesh was wasted away by the dews of heaven. When God saw that I endured patiently in my good strife of fasting and that I gave my heart to ascetic practices, he made holy angels serve me and bring to me my daily food. An angel gave it to me evening by evening and he stood by my body. The palm tree yielded onto me each year twelve bunches of dates and I ate one bunch every month. Moreover he made the herbs (grass) which grow in the desert to be sweet to my mouth even as honey. For it is written "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word which comes forth from the mouth of God does man live." If you do the will of God, he shall take care of you in every place. For he has said in the holy Gospel, "Take no care for what raiment you shall eat or for what you shall drink. For what raiment you shall clothe thyself for your Father which is in the heaven knows of what things you have need without your asking Him. Seek you his kingdom and his righteousness and these things shall be added onto you." When I had heard these I marveled exceedingly and I said unto him " Oh my holy father where do you partake of the sacrament on the Sabbath day and on the first day of the week?" and he said onto me, "Oh my holy father an Angel of God comes and he administers to me the sacrament on the Sabbath day and on the first day of the week. The angel comes and administers the sacrament to everyone who is in the desert, and who lives there for Gods sake and sees no man. He gives on to them consolation and moreover when they desire to see anyone they are taken up onto the hights of heaven and they see all the saints and they greet them. Thereby their hearts receive lights and they rejoice and are glad with God in those good things. When they see them they receive consolation They continue to feel comforted for a very long time, and if they are transferred to another world through the joy which they have seen they do not even remember that the world exists. When I heard these things I rejoiced exceedingly that I was held to be worthy to hear them from him. I forgot all the sufferings which I had endured when I was journeying in the desert, strength came unto my body and renewed power came onto my body and to my soul. I said to him, "Blessed am I that I am held worthy to see your holy face and to hear your sweet words." Then he said to me," Raise up oh my brother and let us depart to the place wherein we are to be. " We rose up and we journeyed along together, two or three miles. This blessed old man and athlete was one to marvel at exceedingly. We journeyed and came to a hut. When we had entered into the hut he stood up and prayed with me. When we had finished the prayers we gave the "Amen." We sat down together talking about the majesty of God. At the time when the sun was about to set I looked and saw a loaf of bread and a vessel of water. He said unto me, "Raise up my brother and eat and drink this small quantity of water for I see that you art exhausted by hunger and thirst and by the toil of the road." I said onto him, "As God almighty lives I will neither eat nor drink unless we stretch ourselves out and eat the bread together. When I continued to press him with difficulty he agreed and we stretch ourselves out together. We divided the bread and ate and put back some of it back. The two of us drank from the vessel of water and we were satisfied and we left some it in the vessel of the water. We passed the whole night in prayer, we prayed to God until the morning. When it was morning I saw that his face had changed and it was altogether transformed. It was like unto that of another man and it seemed to be wholly of fire. His form terrified me exceedingly, and he said unto me, "Fear not oh my brother in God for the Lord has sent thee to care for my body and bury it. In a day or two I shall fulfill my stewardship and shall go to the place of everlasting rest." Now that day was the sixteenth day of the month of Paone, and he also said unto me, "When you depart unto Egypt, proclaim the remembrance of me as a sweet smelling thing to the brethren. Whosoever shall make an offering in my name and keep me in remembrance, Jesus himself will bring him in the first hour of a thousand years." And I said unto him " If he be a poor man he will not be able to give an offering in my name." He replied, "Let him feed a poor brother in my name." I asked, " If he be a poor man he will not be able to feed him will you not take him into the feast at the first hour of a thousand years?" He replied, " Let him give a little scent in my name ." I said, "If he be a poor man he will not be able to give scent in your name because of his poverty. Oh my good father let your grace be with us all for whatsoever you shall ask of God, He shall give unto thee." He said, "Let him stand up and say three times prayers to God in my name. The Lord Jesus shall bring him to the thousand years and he shall receive and inheritance with all the saints." And I said unto him "Oh my holy father if I am worthy of it, I should like to be present in your holy abode when you shall cease to be in this body." He said, "Certainly you shall my son for you have not been appointed to the stewardship, but the Lord has appointed thee to console the holy brethren who live in the desert. Proclaim their sweet odor among the brethren who worship God for the benefit of those hearken onto thee. Get thee forth to Egypt oh my son and continue to carry on the good work." Straightway I fell down upon the ground and I said unto him, "Bless me oh my father that I may be made to stand before God, as I have been held worthy to see thee in the other world before the Lord Jesus the Christ." He said, "Oh my son may not God cause thee to grieve about any matter whatsoever, and may he strengthen thee in his love, so that your eyes may receive the light of his Godhead. That you may neither lean to one side nor fall, but may end successfully the work whereon to you have set your hand. May the angels shelter thee and deliver thee from the plotting of the Jews, and may no accusations fall upon thee when you have to meet God." And when he had made an end of saying these things he rose up and prayed to God with sighing and many tears. Afterwards he lied himself upon the ground and he completed his stewardship in God. He yielded up his spirit into the hand of God on the sixteenth day of the month of Paone. I heard the voice of the angels singing hymns before t he blessed Abba Onnophrios and there was great joy at his meeting God. I took off the garment wherewith I was clothed and tore it unto two pieces. In the one I wrapped up the holy man for burial and the other I used as raiment so that I might not be naked. I placed his body down in a cleft in the rock and I heard the sound of a multitude of angels rejoicing and crying out, "Alleluia" I said my prayer over him and I rolled several stones upon it. I stood up and prayed a second time and straightway the palm tree fell down. I marveled exceedingly at what had taken place. I ate what was left of the bread and I drank of the water which was left to us. When I perceived that it was not according to the will of God for me to remain in this place, I spread out my hands and I prayed unto the Lord. Behold the man who had come to me in the first and who had given me strength, came to me agai n as he had done before. When we had talked together for a long time? he said unto me "Oh our brother establish your heart with a little bread for you have traveled from a place a far off." After that I came into Egypt after a journey of three days and I described unto the brethren what had happened unto me. They wrote down these things which they had heard from me, Abba Papnoute, and quickly put them in a book which they sent to -shiet- where it was deposited in the church for the benefit of those who should read or hear it. They glorified God, and blessed His saints through the grace and love to man of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom be glory, and to His good Father and the holy spirit for ever and ever.
AMEN.

Holy Virgin Mary Appeard in Egypt from 1968-1971

The Lord Jesus lived in Egypt as well as His holy mother, St. Mary, and her betrothed St. Joseph while They were running away from Herod the king. The Coptic Orthodox Church is the only New Testament Church prophesized about in the Old Testament(Isaia 19:19). Christian faith came to Egypt in the middle of the first century when St. Mark the Apostle brought Christianity there. The Holy Virgin Mary Returns to Egypt April 2, 1968 Appears in Zaitoun In 1968 the Virgin Mary returned once more to Egypt after more than a thousand years .

This return visit happened when Holy Virgin Mary began appearing on the dome of the Coptic Church named after her in a poor suburb of Cairo, April 2, 1968 in Zaitun, Egypt.

The apparitions of the Blessed Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of Light, over the domes of the Coptic Orthodox church named after Her in Zeitoun, Egypt, have been characterized by their full clarity and were witnessed by millions of Egyptians and foreigners from all walks of life. The fact that these apparitions were seen by millions, all giving the same description as to the details of these apparitions, is in itself an unequalled and unprecedented event anywhere else in the world, making the Zeitoun apparitions of our Lady unique and sublime. Without any doubt, Egypt has an important role in God's divine plan for humans. Amazingly, Egypt is mentioned in the Holy Bible 736 times (Egypt and Egyptian(s)), second only to Jerusalem which is mentioned 814 times. God blessed Egypt since the beginning of time...
Starting on the eve of the 2nd of April, 1968, these apparitions took many forms including:
The first was in full luminous stature. The Virgin appeared wearing a long robe extending to below Her feet. Sometimes She was surrounded by bright stars, and at other times She had a shawl about Her head, and Her hands were extended forward. At times, She was seen blessing the people who gathered to observe the miracle by waving Her hands and nodding Her holy head. At other times, She had an olive branch in Her hand. (Zeitoun is a transliterated Arabic word meaning olives. See Genesis 8:11)
The Virgin used to walk over the church, especially over the middle dome, and to bow prayerfully in front of the cross that shone, then, with a bright light.
She sometimes made Her apparition with the Babe Jesus Christ in Her arms. It is not strange to see the Child Jesus Christ in an apparition; heavenly apparitions may take forms known to us, so that we can understand them.
The apparitions of the Virgin were sometimes accompanied with, or preceded by, the appearance of white pigeons that used to circle the church. Sometimes a lightning-like light appeared. It shone for a while and then disappeared. At other times, a luminous mist spread everywhere and it gave off the strong pleasant scent of incense that pervaded the whole place.
Unusual phenomena taking place at the time of the apparitions:
The Doves: They differ from the normal pigeons in that they are able to fly at night; they are also bigger in size and different in shape. They appear from nowhere, do not flap their wings as they fly and disappear as they came.
The Stars and Glowing Balls of Light: They are bigger than the usual stars. They used to descend quickly on the church. Sometimes they were spherical in shape or like lanterns.
The Light: It used to appear over the domes. Its colour was orange or light blue. It used to encircle the church like a sacred halo.
The Cross: Though opaque, the cross used to glow over the big dome with a phosphorescent light. Sometimes, a very white cross appeared over one of the domes or over the Virgin Herself when She made Her apparitions.
The Incense: It used to permeate the place with its strong pleasing smell and white colour.
The Clouds: Used to appear over the domes, sometimes taking the form of the Virgin. (See Exodus 40:34, 1 Kings 8:10-11, Isaiah 19:1, Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7 and Luke 9:34-35) here is a link to a video clip and more related to this apparition http://www.zeitun-eg.org/zeitngal.htm